Step Forward
by Toxi
Summary: AU. Berwald enrolls in a boarding school for boys, and feels friendless and alone. A boy named Norway helps him find his footing, and he's got a roommate named Denmark. Tino quickly becomes the object of his interests, and realizes that he loves him.SuFin
1. New Sensation

Hey guys~ I'm starting another fic, so please don't shoot me. OTL I'll get around to finishing my other ones soon, seriously!! I'm a very idea-driven person, and when I have no ideas, nothing happens. Feedback and suggestions are what I lived on, so please tell me what you think! n 3 n  
I'm insanely in love with SuFin, so expect this one to keep going. xD

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I walked through the doorways for the first time, breathing in the new atmosphere that would now become my 'home'. My parents had dropped me off at a boarding school, so I would be here for quite a while. I'd stay here for a few years, only to visit home during the holidays. I was new to the area, so I was utterly alone. Being the first day of school, I sensed other students were in the same predicament as I was in.

As I followed the vast majority of the crowd, I realized that they were all pouring into a massive room. We were sectioned off into rows according to our last names, and were then given the number for our dorm rooms. Oxenstierna—that was my last name. Through my choppy way of speaking, it's a little difficult for people to understand me, but after I had repeated my name several times to the woman at the head of the line, she nodded and looked at her list. I was handed a piece of paper with my classes and my dorm. It was number 425. My dark green eyes scrolled down to the name near the number. Denmark, it read. Who was that? I had yet to meet someone named "Denmark"—but I knew instantly that this "Denmark" had to be in fact male, for this was a boys' school that my parents had left me in.

After I had my slip of paper, I was to find my dorm room, and drop off my things. I shuffled out of the massive room, where people were still bustling to get their room number. The room was very loud as boys were yammering on to each other, waiting impatiently for their turn. Upon exiting the spacious room I was in prior, almost all sound seemed to disappear. I had left the boisterous place, and found that the outside was relatively quiet at this point. Good thing I had a tendency to be early. I held the thin piece of paper in one hand as I started up at the two stair cases that led up to the dorm rooms. They seemed daunting, but I knew I'd have to ascend them. I started to lug my things in the direction of the stairs when a quiet voice beside me spoke up. "I can help if you want me to."

I looked up reflexively, and it was boy with dark steel-blue colored eyes and a muted expression. He seemed very calm, and as I eyed him, I realized that he didn't have any bags with him.

"I've already been to my room, so I've decided to help other people. Do you know where your dorm is?" He asked helpfully, though his voice was very quiet and gentle. He started to peer over to look at my paper, and I handed it to him so he could examine it.

"Ah d'n rel'ly know wher' ahm s'posed ta go e'sactly. Ah'd apprish'ate help, th'nks." I nodded, trying to sound grateful. I noticed I was quite a lot taller than the other boy. He gawked at me for a moment, but resumed his focus on the paper he held between both hands. "425? Oh," He mumbled, "That's very close to where I am. Here," He said, picking up one of the bags I had set down for a moment. "I'll help you."

"Th'nk ya," I said a few times as we started to climb the stairs. I didn't really need much help in lifting things, but my fellow classmate seemed determined to help me, so I didn't argue about it. We advanced up the stairs, walking on top of the smooth tiles as our uniformed shoes clicked against their reflective surfaces. "Uhm," I interjected, and I saw his dark eyes dart back to meet mine.

"Yes?" He asked as we neared the top of the stairs.

"Ah didn't quite ca'ch yer name…" I said quietly, reaching the top after he did. "Mah name's Ber'wld."

He nodded, "Oh, forgive me…I must have forgotten—I'm Norway."

I smiled faintly, and he turned around. "425 is still a ways a way, so let's hope you have some classes with your roommate…Who is he, by the way?" Norway turned around for a moment to glance at me again as he led me into a darker hallway with a massive window. I glanced out of the window, looking at the grassy scenery that this school was encompassed in. There was a massive field and as I continued to peer out, I noticed several areas—each for a different sport. I noted baseball, tennis, a field for soccer or football and a running track. I wasn't a very athletic-driven person, but people had said I was good at them.

I was freed from my trance a moment later and quietly responded, "S'mone named D'nmark." I had nearly forgotten what Norway had said to me upon the realization that the school I was enrolled in offered many different athletic programs.

"Denmark?" Norway asked, sounding surprised. He let out a small, but refined, sigh. "We were childhood friends…he's rather noisy, I'm afraid… so I apologize beforehand." He glanced at me through half-closed eyes with a sympathetic look.

I didn't really know how else to respond, so I kept my mouth closed. As Norway led me into another hallway, I saw more and more students around me. All of them I had never seen before. As I looked around inquisitively, I spotted that most of the students were blond. I was blond…and so was Norway…It seemed odd, but maybe not that odd. The massive flurry of yellow hair must have distracted me from my regular train of thought. Most of the boys were noisy, and I saw many different personalities just as I was passing in a hallway.

"Here we are," Norway said with a minute sigh, setting down the bag he wanted to carry for me. Norway rotated his shoulder a bit, pressing a hand to the joint. The messenger bag he was carrying for me might have been a little too much. He was thin, and looked a little delicate.

"Th'nk ya," I muttered, nodding again.

"Norgey~" A loud voice called behind the steely-eyed boy. His face tightened a bit, and he turned around.

"Denmark…I told you not to call me that…" His voice was still quiet, though it seemed to have gained tension that wasn't there previously.

"Ahw," The other blond came into view. "Pssht! Shaddap, I know you like that nickname, Norgey." He was almost as tall as me, and had a very overwhelming aura about it. His hair was wild, and looked like it could have used a good brushing. This was Denmark? According from what Norway had said, this seemed to be him. My…roommate… Our eyes connected for a minute, and he rested an arm on Norway's shoulder. Norway tried to push him off, but to no avail. "Who's this guy, Norgey?" He said with a smirk.

"This is Berwald, your roommate." Norway introduced me.

"H'llo," I nodded respectively, trying to make a good first-impression for the person I would be sharing a room with for a year.

"Hmmmmm…" Denmark muttered, eyeing me for a moment. He eased himself off of Norway and circled around me. "Pretty tall, hn? Well, don't get in my way and we'll be fine! Ahaha!!" He threw back his shoulders and let out a jovial laugh.

"N—Norway!" Another voice broke the fleeting second and a face emerged with it. A thin boy with soft blond hair emerged from the room next door, looking rather distressed. "Norway!" He called again. His distraught tone had the same quality as high notes on a piano, played in a way so that there were small leaps from note to note.

Denmark smiled smugly, "Tino's callin' ya."

Norway quickly gave Denmark a sort of reserved glare as he walked closer to the shortest of the four of us. "Yes, Tino?"

"I think there's a spider in the bathtub! Can you kill it for me?" He had a soft voice, though it was panic-stricken at the moment.

Denmark laughed through his teeth again as Norway trailed after the troubled Tino. "So, Waldy," Denmark said, poking my shoulder. "You're a new face!"

"Ah d'n't live 'r'nd here, so…" I fumbled over my words, hardly making sense.

"Nah, nah," He said, waving a hand reassuringly, "It's fine, bro." He picked up the same bag that Norway had earlier and pulled it into the room, and dropped it on one of the beds with ease. I followed him immediately, dragging the rest of my things behind me.

After the small hallway, the room poured out into a bigger area, with two twin beds and a small kitchen-esque nook in the corner. My eyes trailed down to the other small hallway where there was another door, with what I assumed was the bathroom. Denmark had most of his things already out of their bags, though there was a messy heap on top of his bed.

"This is my bed, Waldy." He said, jumping onto his own bed. "Claim it as your own and I punch you in the eye." There was an odd sense of seriousness in his voice, but then it quickly left, and he smiled jovially again.

I dumped my things down onto my bed, and started to unpack them. Denmark seemed to be a very talkative person, and already started a conversation as I unpacked some of my regular clothes. We were issued a winter and a summer uniform, and were currently wearing our winter uniform. A blazer-type uniform with our school insignia on both the sweater vest and jacket. "So you don't know anyone here, do ya?" He had pushed the empty bags off of his bed and had flopped down on his back, hands behind his head.

"Not re'lly…" I muttered, still unzipping things. I blinked and remembered our neighbors—Norway and Tino. Denmark seemed to know them well, specifically Norway. He had an advantage I didn't have—previous friendships.

"Norway's got a little bro 'round here somewhere…" Denmark sighed, scratching one of his temples lazily.

"Re'lly?" I asked, turning around to look at him for any sort of confirmation.

"Yep!" He responded, "He was bumped up a grade 'cause he knows what he's doing. His name's Iceland, I think. Norgey would know…"

I relaxed for a moment, and I saw Tino's face in my head when I closed my eyes. Why? Even though I had only seen him for about 30 seconds, I remember what he looked like clearly.

"D'nmark?" I asked him.

"Yeah?" He asked in response, sitting up.

"Who'is T'no?"

"Tino? Aah, he was bullied by Ivan for the longest time, but he's doin' okay now. Ivan is in our grade; he's got the reputation of a psychopath, so I suggest you stay away from him."

"Oh, uh…th'nk ya…" I added, thankful for a small tidbit of information to help me in my new life at school.

----

The second day of school was when classes really started. In my first class—English—I had Norway. The first day was mainly introductions, but I felt better knowing that someone I at least had become slightly familiarized with was there. I wasn't paying much attention in that class. I never really did like English. I could write fine, but my handwriting was bad, and the way I spoke was so choppy… It was obvious that I couldn't stand speeches. I didn't even want to think about getting up in front of my class.

Norway sat a ways away from me, but I saw him glance at me with a slightly concerned expression, his eyes voicing, 'Hey, Berwald, you okay?' I relaxed my shoulders and forced a small smile. I saw him relax as well, and refocus his attention on our teacher, who was busily explaining what we would be covering this year. We'd have to read several novels as a class, and have extensive projects on each of the novels. I knew already from this point that I'd probably be relying on Norway quite a lot. I hope he wouldn't mind.

After spacing out for most of the class, the bell rang and we packed up our things. As the class slowly shuffled out of the classroom like one organism, I withdrew the slip of paper I had received yesterday to look at my class schedule once more. I continued advancing in the hallways to my next class, but saw something catch my eye for a moment.

It was Tino, minding his own business and walking to his next class. He was walking in the same direction that I was, though. I wanted to ask him if we had the next class together, or at least introduce myself…but I said nothing, and I made no movements. I watched him as he walked into the classroom, I followed in pursuit.

One of my least subjects—math—was a class I had with Tino. The entire class seemed to stand around until the teacher assigned seats, placing me next to Tino. On my right was a boy who seemed very aggressive, by the name of Vash. He had made no attempts in talking to me, and being as socially awkward as I was, decided that I wouldn't either. Instead, I could focus my attentions on befriending Tino, who I had met at a previous instance.

The teacher had smiled slyly, and passed out a pre-test to everyone in the class. As I slowly gripped my mechanical pencil tighter, I realized that the noisy boys I couldn't help but hear on the first day of school seemed to have quieted down now that there was a serious time at hand. I glanced over at Tino, who had his fingers through his hair looking like he was thinking about something. It looked like he was completely ignoring me. I resumed my pose looking down at my desk, and only started to deviate from my previous thought train as the white paper slid onto my desk.

Equations, expressions, variables, negatives and integers were scattered all over the page. I didn't really like it. I did understand what this 'foreign language' was speaking to me, though at the same time I wish I didn't have to care. I scrawled down answers and showed my work for the problems I had finished, saving the tedious word problems for last. The silence in the room hung over all of us like a heavy blanket.

I was almost done with the pre-test, a handful of my classmates were already done, including the very agitated boy sitting on my right side. After getting up to turn in his paper, he huffed angrily and folded his arms, giving me a good glare. I looked down at my own paper again and heard Tino muttering something.

"No…" He muttered in a disheartened tone, "…That can't be right…where does this negative go? Wait…I forgot to divide…! Urgh…Is that a four or a nine…?"

I paused, just listening to him yammer to himself about the incorrect answer. I subtly eyed the problem he was working on. 18. After glancing at my own paper for the answer, I discreetly whispered, "Th' ansa's 'x = -23'."

Tino looked up at me, looking quite surprised. He wasn't looking at me, at first, but as his eyes scanned his surrounding classmates, I was the obvious one. Our eyes met for a moment, as neither one of us said anything at all. I stood up, scooting my chair in, ready to take my paper to the teacher. "X = -23," I repeated to him, muttering in an audible but restrained voice.

The teacher nodded and smiled when I placed the pre-test in the basket at his desk and returned to my seat.

---

I had Tino again in my Gym class after math, as well as in my science and art. Of course, Norway was in my art class, and both Denmark and the notorious Iceland in my science class. Of course, there were a lot of other reoccurring students that I saw throughout the day, but no one I had any interaction with. The agitated boy who sat next to me in my math class was also in my art class, though neither of us attempted to intermingle. Something else I had noticed was that Tino didn't even glance at me. Other than in math class, neither of us had made any sort of social contact whatsoever. He kept to himself, and I kept to myself, quietly watching him from afar. It seemed I had already made friends with Norway and Denmark, and Iceland seemed to agree with me…but why was Tino ignoring me?

Classes were over now, and we were—in a sense—set free to go about doing other things. I assumed I'd just be completing the slight homework I was given in a few of my classes. It wasn't like I had something else important in mind…

My pace slowed as I started to walk off into the direction of my dorm room. I had crossed through several different hallways before I noticed that Tino was close by. I glanced to the left and slightly behind me—and there he was. There seemed to be every opportunity for us to strike up a conversation or engage in idle chitchat…but we didn't. He must have not noticed me, I told myself. But as I kept walking the way I had planned, Tino kept walking the same path with me. Of course, I reminded myself, we're neighbors. …Might as well introduce myself. He was flustered last time and probably didn't remember me.

"Uhm, T'no?" I called his name, walking towards him.

He turned to look at me, eyes widening slightly. "Uh…yes?" He asked, his voice ending on a high note again.

"Oh, ah," I muttered, starting feel awkward again. "Ah jus' w'nted to say h'llo…We're neighb'rs 'n all…So I jus' w'nted—"

"Oh," Tino softly exclaimed, interrupting me. "I forgot that I was meeting Norway in the cafeteria. He mentioned that I left something in there, so he's waiting for me…I'll see you later!" He called with a smile, waving a bit as he turned the other way and left in a quick walk.

Left something in the cafeteria?

Still disappointed that we couldn't have a real conversation, I cleared my throat and resumed my trek to the dorm room I shared with Denmark. I weaved through the hallways, passed other students, and stared out of the massive window again. Navigating through the immense school wasn't as intimidating as I thought. My feet slowly ascended the flight of stairs, and when I reached the top, a voice distracted me.

"Hey…Berwald?"

I looked up. It was Norway.

"Have you seen Tino anywhere? I wanted to remind him of something… Do you know where he is?" Norway looked genuinely curious.

So then…So then what Tino said to me was a lie. He lied.

"No," I replied back to Norway, looking somewhat apologetic as I walked past him and into the room that Denmark and I shared. He was already asleep on his bed, sprawled out into a ridiculous position and snoring softly.

I sat down on my bed, unzipping my backpack and started to pull a few textbooks out. _I forgot I was meeting Norway in the cafeteria._ I heard his voice in my ears. Forgot? No, he lied. Why? I hadn't done anything…

_That liar._

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Sorry for emo-esque ending. OTL Thank you for reading and reviewing! If you can't tell already, this AU fic is very Nordic-centric. They're my favorites~ I do have a lot of this story already planned out, and suggestions are cool! ;] I'll try to update as quickly and as much as possible, but then again I am a very lazy person.


	2. Ease Into

Thanks for all of the faves on the story, guys! = 7 = And for all of the reviews! I'll keep going on this, don't worry, and thank you for all of your support!!

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It was early morning—well before any classes would start. Norway and I were both prepared for our first class of the day—English—but we were both being casual about it, and decided to chat lightly as we meandered about the school building. It still was early, Norway and I being morning people, so the hallways were roomier than they were when the day progressed. The school almost seemed empty as we wandered around, hearing echoes in certain places where there were _never_ any echoes when school had begun.

My bag was slung over my shoulder, holding all of the things I'd need for the day. Norway also had his backpack, though it was being held up with both straps. Again, Tino was on my mind. He had deliberately lied to me a few days ago, and I just couldn't get over it for whatever reason. Taking advantage of the opportunity in front of me, I decided to ask Norway about Tino. "Does T'no not like me'r sum'thin? He ds'n't ev'r w'nt to talk with meh…"

"Oh," Norway replied. "Tino has a bit of difficulty adjusting to new people, don't worry." He reassured me with a calm expression. "He's also easily intimidated…and you're pretty tall…"

I nodded. So then it was just because of the way I looked, right? At least, that's what I came to believe now. Then something else had been bothering me, but if I asked Denmark I'd probably only get to hear half of what I wanted to hear. "Who's Iv'n?"

Norway glanced at me with wary eyes for a moment, "Did Denmark say anything?"

I nodded, "Ah little,"

"Ivan and Tino used to be friends, but then Ivan got a little too manipulative over him, and then Tino decided he didn't want to be friends with him anymore. Ivan still goes to this school, he's in our grade. I don't know if you have any classes with him…but you should probably stay away from him."

I nodded, still a little confused, but I guess I'd learn eventually. I was about to ask Norway something else, but after he had finished talking, I realized that we were standing outside of our English classroom. I gawked around for a moment as Norway already entered the room, and as I peered at the clock in the classroom, class was starting soon! I hadn't realized how much time had elapsed while we were talking.

I scurried into the classroom and found my seat.

Class was rather boring. Not much happened other than a review of things I already knew. Norway and I didn't talk the rest of class. Needless homework was shoveled onto us, and we all packed up as we were ready to leave class.

---

For whatever reason, I arrived at our lunch table rather early. Only Tino and Norway were there. I could see even from a distance that Tino was doing most of the talking while Norway seemed like he wasn't paying much attention, and just picked at his food. I clenched the food tray a little tighter as I walked up to our table and sat down next to Tino, much to his surprise. I tried to act nonchalant about it, but it seemed that Tino wouldn't let me. I usually sat on the opposite side of the small table, next to Denmark. But Norway didn't make any real reaction in my choice, so then it seemed that Tino would be my only obstacle. That and Iceland. I guess I had stolen his seat…I hope he wouldn't mind too much.

"Berwald…" Tino whispered to me in a somewhat annoyed tone. "Why're you sitting on this side?"

He made it sound like what I had done was wrong. Even the first day we had lunch, a 'seating chart' had been subconsciously made. Norway sat next to Tino, who sat next to Iceland, and on the other side of the table it was me and Denmark. As long as I had been coming to this school, that exact seating arrangement had been followed. Until I decided to change it, that is.

"Can't ah sit nx'ta you?" I asked rather quietly, a little disheartened that I had upset him so much. I wasn't planning for it.

Tino's eyes dimmed a little and he averted his gaze from me. It almost felt as though I had just been stabbed, but before any severe damage was done, the blade had been ripped right out of me. He readjusted his thin frame and positioned himself so that his back was mostly turned to me, and he was focused on Norway. Norway was casually eating his food as he should be, and Tino picked at bits on his tray, talking whenever food wasn't in his mouth. I was being ignored again, wasn't I? Why did he treat me like this? I had done nothing to him, and he hated me.

"Oh hey, was there a whole lot of homework in your English class? I bet there was…it seems like that teacher really likes to assign homework. He must like torturing us." Tino continued eating his leafy salad without any dressing on it. Every couple of sentences he'd use a plastic fork to spear several leaves together, and then eat them.

"Yeah," Norway replied in an uncommitted tone, obviously uninterested when Tino got into one of his yammering moods. Norway would occasionally take a bite out of his rye bread sandwich, but then stare at it for the longest while, almost as though he was expecting for something important to happen.

As I watched the two interact, I couldn't help but feel that I still wasn't a part of this circle of friends. I was sitting right next to Tino, yet here I was, still by myself. I must just be the type of person that attracts loneliness. In a less than bright mood as of yet, I was ready to open a bag of salted crackers, but was distracted.

"Svi?" Iceland blinked at me, holding his lunch tray with both hands. Svi was his nickname for me, although I don't really know why. It didn't sound negative, so I didn't disagree with it. Oh yes, I was in his seat, wasn't I?

"Oh, ah, s'rry," I muttered, "I jus' w'nted ta sit by T'no today…Th't alr'ght?"

Iceland glanced from me to Tino, who was still ignoring me, and nodded. "Sure," He said, and sat in the place where I would normally sit. By the time it took for Iceland to place his tray on the table and sit down, Denmark had showed up, and sat in his regular seat.

"Woah, what the hell's goin' on here?" He asked, glancing from me to Tino. Why did Tino have to cause a scene? If he could just calm down, then we'd probably be friends already.

"Jus' w'nted ta sit by T'no…" I said in a relatively somber tone, seeing as my attempt to take advantage of a situation had just backfired on me.

"Oh," Denmark said with a nod.

Tino was quiet now, but still wasn't facing me. He was eating now, trying to cram his mouth full so he wouldn't have to talk to me. I was picking at my food. I'll admit that I wasn't very hungry, nor was I in the mood to really eat anything, either. Norway was usually a quiet person, I had learned, unless he had something important to say, that is. Iceland could be place right on the line of being quiet or talkative. He could fit into either depending on his mood. Unlike Tino, he didn't seem particularly perturbed. This was very relieving. So it seemed I had gained everyone's friendship (though it wasn't much to look at) but Tino's.

As we were all thinking and eating, an uneasy silence settled among us. Almost as though a little grey cloud had set up camp above us. Denmark tried to whisk this cloud away as he smirked and said, "Hey, has anyone been to the track at all? I don't have gym this semester—which sucks tremendously—so I wanted to know if it was any good."

There was yet another pause as Denmark hadn't really indicated who he was talking to. His question was meant for anyone in the group, and as a group, everyone was waiting for someone else to say something. In the cycle of waiting, the silence was only prolonged by Denmark's question.

"I've be'n," I replied, glancing at him. "Ah hav'n't be'n 'n m'ny tracks be'for,'s ah dunno wh't's good 'r n't good…" I spoke like a tied up toddler trying to walk in a straight line. It was practically impossible. It was a good thing that these guys were pretty polite, actually; they never really needed me to repeat anything. They'd pause as they'd hear my words again in their head, and then think of something to say back to me.

"Is it spongy?" Denmark asked, sitting up straight in an alert manner.

"Mm," I hesitated. I still couldn't really tell what level of sponginess that Denmark was looking for, seeing as I had no previous tracks to compare it with, but for the sake of prolonging the conversation, I voiced, "Yah, Ah'd say it'd is."

"Haha!" He grinned widely, his powerful aura present now. "Good! I like it when a track is good and spongy. It's easier on your ankles when running, ya know!"

"I was the one who told you that, Denmark." Norway added, throwing away a wrapper into the small trashcan at the end of our table.

"And _I'm_ telling to Berwald!" He said matter-of-factly.

Norway let out a small sigh as he and Denmark engaged in conversation, Iceland jumping in whenever he could. I still felt a little left out, but by this time Tino had turned around to face me. His violet eyes were big and reflective, like little purple mirrors. His eyebrows were furrowed, though, so there wasn't time to be looking at his eyes.

"Why're you sitting here?" He asked me again in a frustrated whisper.

"I w'nt to be fr'nds with ya," I replied honestly, our conversation's volume was nearly nonexistent compared to the one that Denmark and Norway were having.

Tino exhaled rather quickly, and looked down for a moment, then back up at me. I saw a quiver of fear in his big mirroring eyes. Why did he seem so against just being friends? I wasn't forcing him to do anything… "Really?" He said in a calmer tone.

I nodded slowly, to seem not too eager. "Yes," I replied softly.

Now Tino seemed a little restless. He had finished his lunch and did us all a favor by collecting our empty lunch trays, and when he returned to his seat his eyes were fixated on the clock at the back of the large cafeteria. We were near a wall, so looking at it wasn't too strenuous on the eyes. He wasn't saying much now, but he was fidgeting. He'd quietly drum his fingers or sway a little in his seat. What strange behavior.

"Is'ser sum'thin' wrong, T'no?" I asked him, leaning in a little closer so we were more level. I really was quite a lot taller than he was, and quite big too compared to him. He seemed so small and fragile. He'd be easy to carry, I'd imagine. He had thin little shoulders and pale skin, not to mention a delicately curved face and a thin body. I was thin too, but I had a great deal more muscle than he did.

Tino looked up at me again, cheeks flushing a darker hue. He shook his head quickly, "N—no…nothing wrong. I just want to get to my next class, is all."

I blinked, and straightened my spine again. Was he lying to me again, just so he could avoid giving me the real answer? He might have been, but I didn't want to start our new friendship with the assumption that everything he told me was a lie.

When lunch was over, Tino quickly scampered off to his next class, leaving the rest of us in the dust. What was it that was so urgent? I wondered if I was the only one kept out of the loop.

I started to take my own path, and Norway seemed to be going in the same direction. "You know," He started, wearing a hint of a smirk on his face. "Tino really only acts like that around you, Berwald. I've got him in a few other classes, and he works with most other people just fine…I guess you're just getting some sort of selective treatment or something."

Norway didn't even give me enough time to reply before he had walked off into another direction. I felt that I was just left there with that idea to mull over for the next few class periods. Special treatment? It didn't seem like it. Though I seemed to be making some progress. I didn't have any verbal proof as of yet, but it seemed like Tino and I were friends now. Or at least on neutral terms of calling each other 'friend'.

But after lunch, Tino was in my next class. Perhaps I could talk to him there. After all, we were friends now.

---

Derp. Why do I seem to make Tino sound so Tsundere? :C I fail. Oh well, it'll get better in later chapters, I swear! xD Sorry I'm just dragging this out. No not really, but I hate it when I read romance fics or whatever and then BAM! They're in love. :I That does not amuse me. So I'm trying to make it realistic, 'cause it never works like BAM! Unless you're a hoe. The end. Love you all who read and review, and thanks for the ideas/suggestions!! n 3 n

Edit:: OTL Oh my lord. I was writing this after midnight, so sorry about the comment involving Belarus and Ukraine. Please forgive my sleepiness.


	3. Realize It

Oh wow! n 3 n Thanks for all of the kind feedback and ideas. I'll keep trying to pump this story out! xD I'll need a few ideas for chapter four, so after reading this, please tell me what you'd like to see happen! C:

___

A few weeks of school had already passed. Days just seemed to slip away from me in this new life I was living in. A month and a half had already elapsed, but things were still as they were previously. Denmark and I were still friends and roommates. Norway and Tino were still our neighbors, and Tino still had mixed feelings about me, I guess. He was still a little cautious around me. I was doing good in school, I'd like to think. Norway would help me in my writing a bit, though he was a bit OCD about my awful handwriting…And Tino usually relied on me in math class. I wasn't a star or anything at math, but he seemed to need a little help from time to time. And I guess it was enough for him.

It was morning now—another day of school. I had just taken a shower and my hair was still damp, but I was brushing my teeth carefully. Denmark and I were just going about the habits that had now become routine for us. I woke up a little earlier than he did, and with an alarm. He'd wake up later, but then again, _I'd_ have to be the one to wake him up. He usually snored in his sleep, but it didn't bother me all too much. Our room was rather small, so we could still hear each other when I was in the bathroom.

"Hey, Berwald," I heard Denmark call through the walls.

"Nn?" I stuck my head out of the bathroom door and looked out down our tiny little hallway. He was wearing his usual silly grin and was buttoning up his uniform shirt.

"What's your opinion of this place, huh? Was it like any of your other schools?"

I paused for a moment, recalling my past school experiences. Come to think of it, I didn't have very many friends at all, and I was almost always tallest of my class. I guess I hadn't noticed it until now, but people usually avoided me. Classmates, I mean. Well, in a little over a month, my opinion of this school seemed to be okay, though it was mainly the friends I had now that made my positive opinion solid.

I had to take the toothbrush out of my mouth and spit before I could say anything, "W'll," I started, pausing again, "Mah oth'r sch'ls wer'n't quite l'ke th's."

"But do you like it?" Denmark asked again, fumbling a bit for his navy tie. He had to walk back to the dresser to get it—where he had left it yesterday. He found it, and then quickly wrapped it around his neck like a noose.

I nodded, "Nn-hnn."

"Hey, Waldy? How many classes do you have with Norgey?"

"Two, ah th'nk." I said a little softer. I wasn't really sure. I had never really bothered to mentally count.

There was a small pause as I heard Denmark walk down the hall and trot through the open bathroom door. "Hey, move over, will ya? I need to brush my teeth too."

"Nn," I nodded, still scrubbing my teeth slowly as he readied his toothbrush. He paused for a moment before putting the toothbrush in his mouth and asked me, "Hey, d'you like anyone?"

He kept looking at me, obviously waiting for an answer of some sort. He blinked a few times as he started brushing his teeth.

I took the toothbrush out of my mouth, "H're, ya mean?"

"Of course!" He replied after spitting into the sink. His eyes half closed and his smile turned crooked, and he jabbed me in the ribs. "You like Tino, don'cha?"

I paused; the bristles of my new toothbrush hurt my gums. I had just bought a new one from the student store on campus. Did I…Did I like Tino? Like in the context of _love_? I knew I wanted to be friends with him, and I paid attention to him. But I didn't really know if I loved him.

"Aaahw!" Denmark cooed, "Lookit'chur face! You're blushing, Waldy!" He jabbed me in the ribs again and laughed through his teeth.

I looked up at myself in the small bathroom mirror above the sink. I couldn't really see too much of myself, it was mainly Denmark that was looming in front of the mirror. But I really didn't see how I was 'blushing'. My skin was the same color as it usually was. Maybe it had already gone away or something.

"I had a feeling you liked him!" Denmark smirked, wiping toothpaste spittle off of the side of his mouth, and doused his toothbrush in cold tap water.

"Ya did?" I asked timidly. I waited for Denmark to finish cleaning his toothbrush before I mimicked him.

"Of course! Tino gets all nervous and fidgety around you." Denmark started to examine his face in the small mirror, and was now toying with his wild blond hair as he continued to talk to me. "I've known Tino for a few years, I guess. So I know him a little. We've never really been best friends or anything, that's him 'n Norway…But anyway, I think you'd guys'd make a great couple. Heh heh," He smirked again, eyeing me for a moment. "A big guy like you'd keep 'im safe. He's a little reckless sometimes, ya noticed?"

I didn't really know quite what to say to Denmark. Here I was, considering the possibility that instead of just seeking friendship from Tino, I loved him, but was oblivious to my own feelings. Denmark had added that we'd make a great couple. Really? I found that a little strange to believe. And he guessed so quickly, too! Well, then again it wasn't like my social circle was very big. Maybe I…maybe I did like him.

Already, I imagined what it'd like if we _were_ a couple. I know I probably shouldn't have, but my mind worked too quickly. I'd touch his hand and curl it around his, our fingers would interlock. I'd remember that soft, pale skin he had and that light blond hair of his. It looked soft, but I had never touched his hair. His hands were so much smaller than mine, and wrapping my hand around it would be more than easy to do. I could wrap my arms around him so easily and hold him tightly. I wondered if he'd hold me back.

I broke free from my trance, and looked up at Denmark, who raised a brow.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" He asked in a stupefied tone. "C'mon, stop day dreaming and let's get to class. I've already been late three times to my first period…"

_That's not my fault._ I wanted to tell him, but I wouldn't have had enough time to say it.

"Who d'you like?" I asked, now hurrying a little to make up for the time I had spent fantasizing about Tino.

"Norway," He replied bluntly in a nonchalant tone. He blinked at me a few times as he stood in front of the door, waiting for me to finish buttoning up my shirt and slip on my shoes.

"R'lly?" I asked, looking up at him while double knotting my right shoe. I knew he'd probably remark how oblivious I was, but then again, when someone presented information to someone else, the first response was usually questioning it.

"Yep," He nodded, "He knows, though, so it's not like it's a secret or anything." He smiled wryly, "But he always tells me to go away…" The blond let out a small sigh, but resumed his slight grin, "But it's no big deal, anyway. Hey, want me to tell Norway and Iceland 'bout you and Tino? Seriously, we could hook you guys up easy."

"I...uhm," I was fumbling over my words again. Could my stupid little day dream I had in the bathroom become reality one day? I found that a little scary to believe. But Denmark said it could. Easy. If he were to inform Norway and Iceland about it…I guess my chances with Tino could be better…But then again I didn't want to seem overwhelming with Norway and Denmark pestering Tino about it. That wouldn't be very good, either.

"Oh, c'mon!" Denmark protested. Since I had finished putting on my shoes, we picked up our school bags and left our room, already walking to our classrooms. "If Tino says no, then he says no, that's it. It's all about perseverance, Waldy!" He said the last bit in an overly dramatic voice that just sounded like something out of a public service announcement. I knew he meant it to sound comforting, but it didn't really.

"Ah…Ah dunno," I paused hesitantly. I saw consequences for each action, and both of them polar opposites. Even if I told Denmark that I didn't want him to tell Norway he probably would anyway. He just seemed like a guy who couldn't keep secrets very well—or at all.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease, Waldy?" Denmark chirped, pleading like a five-year-old for candy.

I sort of glared at him, but Norway strolled in with us, walking alongside Denmark. His steel blue eyes were half-closed as always, and he walked with proper posture and a certain strict manner about him. "What're you begging for this time, Denmark?" Norway said in a mildly exasperated tone.

"Oh, Norgey!" Denmark leaned against Norway's shoulder for a moment in a very informal morning greeting, which was reciprocated by Norway shoving Denmark off of him, followed by, "Get off of me!"

"Geez," Norway grumbled, glaring at Denmark, then glanced at me, probably wondering how I managed to keep up with sharing a room with him. I looked a little apologetic, and shrugged, hoping he'd get my message.

"Okay," Denmark held up a finger, resting an arm on Norway's shoulder again. "So! If it wasn't obvious enough already, Berwald said he likes Tino." Denmark spoke fast, and by the time he had uttered those words I almost felt as though I wanted to hit him.

I felt my face scrunch up, and I tightened my fists. I think I really did want to hit him. Denmark pulled back with his hands up, "Holy shit, Waldy! Don't make faces like that, man. Easy, we're doing ya a favor here."

Norway, calm and composed once more, added, "Oh? I had suspected as much. Tino's been fretting a bit more than usual, so I assume something's on his mind."

Denmark clicked his tongue, "Ivan's not pickin' on him again, is he?"

"…Not that I know of," Norway paused, exchanging glances with Denmark.

"Well, whatever…Think you can get Tino to go out with Berwald, here?" He leaned in closer to Norway's ear and I heard him whisper (his whisper isn't really a whisper, mind you), "I caught Berwald day dreamin' a little. He was blushing a lot. Really red!"

I slapped Denmark's shoulder with the back of my hand and tightened my face again. I didn't say anything, but after his initial reaction, a glare would be all he'd need. "Yeeeeesh," Denmark complained, "Just calm down, Waldy."

"Well," Norway said, focusing the spotlight of the conversation onto him. "Myself being far more subtle than you, Denmark, I can try to ask Tino a few things. Would that be alright?

I sighed a little, but nodded, "Y's th't'd be fine."

---

English class with Norway had gone well, as I had hoped. We were supposed to sit with our 'partners' for an assignment, so Norway and I were sitting next to each other the whole class period. We'd appear to be working whenever the teacher would roam around and eye the students, but most of the time Norway was discussing a game plane for 'Tino and I'. I already knew by the way that he acted that it'd be safer for me to trust Norway than Denmark.

Norway had said that Finland is intimidated by people that are significantly taller than him, which is likely to happen often as Tino is pretty small…but Norway was hinting that if there was something I could do to show Tino that I'd protect him, I'd gain his trust—according to Norway's theory. But Norway spoke in a tone that proved his familiarity with Tino, so I knew I could rely on his words.

I almost held my breath as I walked into my math class, cringing a bit upon that realization that this would be my first time seeing Tino today. Despite him and Norway being my neighbors, Tino had a tendency to want to be early and prepared, so he headed to classes before Norway would. I guess I would be too, but having to help Denmark prevented me. Tino was sitting in his usual spot, twirling a pencil between his fingers as he looked deep in thought, and scribbled something down on a piece of paper.

As I moved over to my seat, I glanced at it and quickly realized that it was not a math assignment that he had neglected. It was something else, but I didn't have that much time to analyze it without seeming suspicious. I sat down next to him, trying to take a quiet deep breath in and out to calm myself. Already, my heart was beating a little faster just being around him.

"Oh, hi, Berwald," Tino said to me, looking up from his paper. He was smiling lightly. At least he wasn't really avoiding me like he used to.

"H'llo," I muttered, and tried to smile back, but it felt weird, and I couldn't smile. Luckily, he didn't notice how awkward I was feeling, as he returned the piece of paper he was writing on. A little while later, we were supposed to be taking notes, and I was, but my mind was elsewhere. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was writing down, but it didn't matter.

I could hear Tino mutter words under his breath on occasion, and as I listened, I really appreciated his voice. It was cute. Even breathy muttered words I found to be oddly comforting. I imagined myself just reach over and touch the hand he wasn't writing with. I wanted to hold it—I wanted to see if his hands really were that much smaller than mine. But I didn't. I didn't move other than wobble my pencil up and down to keep up with the notes.

I was watching him attentively. So then I must like him, I told myself. I really must like him if I'm this interested in him. It must be more than friendship. Norway and Denmark weren't that surprised, so then why do I still doubt myself? I doubted that Tino would feel the same, as would anyone who felt insecure. Now that Denmark and Norway had brought it to my attention, I only wanted to be around Tino even more, but I made no movement in doing so.

The class progressed and I reread everything I had written down so I could understand what we were doing for homework tonight. I understood it, though some parts seemed a little difficult. I sighed lightly as worksheets were circulated throughout the classroom. Ten minutes passed and I had about six problems done. I was just trying to focus on getting the stupid assignment that would be homework if I didn't finish it in the remaining class time.

There was a loud scooting noise as Tino scooted his chair closer to mine and shoved his paper in my direction. "Berwald?" He let out rather weakly.

I turned over to look at him, feeling my face growing hotter around my cheeks. If I didn't think I was blushing prior, I knew I must have been now. My heart wasn't beating faster, but my face still felt hot. "Ye—y's?" I asked in a somewhat startled tone.

"Can you help me on these types of problems? I always get lost after the third step…There are too many Xs…"

"S—s're," I muttered lightly, picking up my pencil that I had dropped in surprise. I helped him for a few problems, and told him what he needed to do and what he was doing wrong, and he realized his errors.

"Oh, thank you, Berwald." He smiled lightly, speaking in a tranquil, gentle voice.

How would I go about telling him that I had fallen in love with him? Did he know already? I wanted to hold the hand that was so close to mine, but I didn't move.

"Berwald?" He asked, his voice ending on a higher pitch and sounded worried. "Are you…are you okay?"

"Hm, oh," I muttered, taking in another breath to try to clear my head. "N—nothing, Ahm fine."

Tino glanced at me for a bit, then looked back at his own paper, and started to finish another math problem. I had almost finished all of my math problems already, and sort of just stared at my paper for a moment while I thought. The burning feeling in my cheeks had died down by now. I felt relieved. I didn't want to bother him while he was trying to get his math homework done, but there was just something I was dying to ask him.

I glanced over at Tino, and he immediately noticed I was. He shot up, his big mirroring eyes of violet looked right into mine. I almost lost what I was going to say, but I slowly opened my mouth. "'R we fr'nds now, T'no…?"

"Friends?" He asked, blinking once.

I nodded. "'R we?"

He averted his gaze on me and looked around, "Yes, I guess we are." He refocused his gaze on me and smiled.

It felt as though I had just taken off weights strapped to my back. My shoulders relaxed as well as my clenched heart. And I smiled at him for the first time without hesitating.

---

Ohohoho, a little bit of romance in his chapter. = 7 = Oh hurr, don't worry I'll try to work on ch4 soon too, but please give me ideas!! 3 Thanks for reading and reviewing!!


	4. Grasp Tightly

Thanks everyone who has commented or reviewed this fanfic! :3 It makes me happy that a lot of people like this. I do plan on having holiday specials (including Halloween, though it's already happened _ lll ) and Christmas too. I should find out when everyone's birthday is, hurr. Sending out random ideas would be good at this point, and I'll try to use them! Thanks~

---

"Get up, Tino," A somewhat monotone voice called to me, and I opened my eyes.

"N—Norway?" I squeaked, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands, and sat up.

"Your alarm didn't go off this morning; I think the battery must have died or something…We've got school today, so you need to get up."

"Oh, okay," I muttered compliantly and heaved myself out of my bed. I had to blink my eyes a few more times before I was adjusted to the bright light in our room. What was Norway doing with all of the curtains pulled back? Maybe he's just trying to let in some light…Pretty bright though, I thought to myself, letting out a morning yawn. I stretched a bit, rolling my shoulders around comfortably as I woke myself up from my dazed stupor.

"I already got your cereal ready," Norway said as he plunged a full spoon into his mouth. He had walked over to our table as I was stretching a moment ago. "Ah jus wet ya fweep in a widdle bit." He chewed, and then swallowed his food, making it much easier to understand him.

"Oh? Thank you, Norway…" I said quietly, wandering over to the small table we would sit at in the mornings, and occasionally at night. I sat down, heaving a small sigh as I picked up my shiny, metallic spoon and started to chew the cereal that Norway had prepared for me. It wasn't much, but it was very nice of him to do for me.

As I continued eating, I noticed Norway was just stirring his spoon around in the bowl of milk, looking rather contemplative. He looked up at me—I wasn't really expecting him to. "Has Ivan been bothering you lately?"

I nearly choked on the sharp bits of a corn flake as it went down my esophagus. Ivan!? Why was everyone always bringing _him_ up? "N—no," I coughed slightly, forcing a smile. "I haven't had any problems with him, recently. In fact, I haven't talked to him in weeks!"

"Oh," Was Norway's answer, "Good." His eyes flickered a little, and he continued to look at me strangely, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes," I nodded, "I feel fine. Why?"

"Just wondering," Norway muttered under his breath, averting his eyes and looked out the window. I saw him wince a little as he looked directly into the sun. "It seems that something is bothering you, but I can't seem to pinpoint what it really is…"

"N—no," I smiled, shaking my head lightly, "I feel fine…Nothing's been worrying me at all, really…"

"Is it Berwald?" He asked me, this time looking directly at me. His steel-colored eyes were sharp and firm, they looked this way whenever he was suspicious of something—I remembered the look.

Berwald? I asked myself. Is he bothering me? What? What was he…?

"You don't really seem to want to be friends with him…Is that bothering you?"

I felt myself panic a little, but I didn't really know why. "Norway!" I smiled and let out a nervous laugh. "He's…he's kind of scary, don't you think? He never smiles!"

"Smiling doesn't have to do with anything…" Norway said in a somewhat offended tone.

Oh…right… Norway hardly smiles either!

"Why do you think he's scary?" Norway questioned, his voice growing a little fainter.

"I don't really…know," I fidgeted in my seat, my fingers recoiling from the cold spoon. "He just…I guess he does bother me a little…He hardly says anything! I mean…being quiet isn't bad," I said nervously, trying to make up for almost insulting Norway again, "But he's not like you. He hardly talks at all! And even when he does, it's almost impossible to understand him!"

"I can understand him just fine, Tino…" Norway said defensively, continuing to stir the milk around in his bowl with his spoon.

I pulled away, removing my hands from the surface of the table. What was Norway trying to get at? I guess I'd sort of consider myself friends with Berwald, but he was pretty scary after all… He's so much taller and bigger than I am…

"Tino," Norway said softly, getting my attention.

I span around reflexively, blinking a few times in anticipation.

"Berwald is in love with you, Tino."

"Huh!?" I let out a little _too_ loudly, almost wanting to fall back in my chair. "What!?" I cried out loud. "But I…But he…and then…why does…he's too…since when?

Norway shrugged, "I don't know. But he told Denmark and I a few days ago. He's really shy, though…So that's why he's been really nervous lately. He's pretty nice; I don't really know why you're scared of him. Even Iceland trusts him."

"Yes well, Icelan—"

"Tino," Norway interrupted me, his voice low and unyielding. "What are you going to do about it? He seems like the type to get really upset if he's heartbroken…"

I averted my gaze, trying to focus on something other than the scenarios that were springing up all over in my brain. He…He loved me? I remembered the smile he showed me a few days prior when I said it was okay for us to call each other friends. It didn't really look like much—it was just a regular smile. I imagined him holding one of my hands tightly, and calling my name in the weird way he always did—"T'no,"

But the fleeting day dream was swept away like a gust of wind, leaving me with the regular representation of Berwald—tall, strong, blond, near-sighted, and serious. _That_ loved me? What should I say? At this point, I was perfectly content with being single. But then _he_ showed up as a new student along with a few other hundred kids, and had to fall in love with me. Why me? Why was I special? What did he find attractive about me? And then I thought, well, he likes _me_. I wondered if he was the type to take all mistakes along with good points, or the type to just ignore the mistakes. I couldn't really tell as of yet.

"I don't…know…" I muttered, still a little dizzy from all of this new information and all of the possibilities that came with them.

"Why don't you go out with him?" Norway suggested casually, dumping out the milk that was still in his bowl into the sink. I almost wanted to scold him for wasting perfectly good milk, but he probably wouldn't have said anything back. "It's not like it'll be a big surprise to anyone…" He muttered under his breath, but I still heard him.

"What do you mean by that?" I said in an affronted tone.

"He was kind of obvious about it…Whenever he mentioned 'friendship', if you were a part of the conversation it could have been easily connected to 'love'. But I guess since he's a pretty shy guy, it was difficult for him to communicate or something…But then again you seem a little oblivious to things like that…Even Denmark caught on!"

"Well," I said in a somewhat angry tone, "I'm sorry I'm pretty oblivious, but I wasn't expecting that!"

"Alright, alright," Norway said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "No need to get all defensive or anything…" He walked over to where the bed were sectioned off and started to take out his school uniform. He was looking focused today, as he usually did, and quickly removed his pajamas and donned his school uniform.

I was left to tend to my empty cereal dish and put it in the sink, turning around to note he was putting on his tie. "What about you and Denmark?" I asked, changing the subject.

"What _about_ Denmark and I?" He asked, sounding not too pleased at the direction of the new conversation. He didn't even look at me while he finished tightening his tie.

"Doesn't he like you or something…?"

Norway let out a sigh through his teeth as he finished with his tie. "I imagine so, but I really don't care. I've told him 'no' countless times, but he's too thick to care. Berwald is very different from Denmark. I think it'd be smart to at least talk to him about it, even if you don't agree."

"Mmm," I muttered, looking down at me feet. True, our situations were very different. While Denmark had confessed to Norway about his feelings for him, Norway wasn't interested, and didn't want to think of them as anything more than 'friends'. On occasion, he was even against that! Yet Denmark still hadn't given up. I wondered how Berwald would act if I told him that I didn't want to go out with him. As Norway had put it, Berwald did look like the type to be heartbroken easily. He was so shy too…And rather quiet… I felt guilty about even imagining something like that.

"Tino, stop dawdling," Norway said, breaking me from my guilty imagination. "We've got to go school."

---

There was this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when math class was to start. I almost felt like I wanted to throw up; I was so nervous. Why was I this nervous, though? There wasn't really a reason for me to be so tense.

Berwald sat next to me in math class like he always did. He'd keep to himself, working on the problems he was supposed to, and would pay attention in class. He was actually good at paying attention, and did better in math class than I did. Numbers were never really my strong spot. It was just too confusing for me, really.

I heaved out a sigh after our class was done taking notes, and he peered at me for a moment. "Ya, okay?" His voice was still low and quiet, like always. He seemed calmer than I was. His eyes were…a sort of greenish color. I hadn't really noticed before. I thought his eyes were sort of blue, but I guess I didn't notice because his glasses were sort of in the way.

"Uh," I smiled, trying to not seem as flustered as I was feeling at this very moment, "I'm, uh…j—just fine! I just feel a little nervous…" I looked away, "And a little sick…"

"D'ya w'nt me t' tell tha' tee'cher if ah c'n take ya t' tha' health office?" He leaned in a little closer to me, most likely trying to examine my face to see if I really _looked_ sick, but that made me even more nervous. I pulled back, feeling my stomach tighten and my face started burning around my cheeks. I was blushing, wasn't I? But I couldn't really see myself, so I just had to rely on gut instinct…

"Uhm," I mustered, "N—no, you don't have to…I'm…I'm fine—really! I think school has been taking a lot out of me…you know?" Maybe he'd believe that excuse. It'd be easier to talk to him in the hallways where it was so noisy that no one paid attention to conversations, but Berwald and I were in whispers now. Of course, there was chitchat amongst other students, but you had to keep your voice low in class if you didn't want anyone to over hear you.

"Mmm," Berwald nodded, pulling back a little, looking down at his hands. I wondered if I said something bad…

----

The rest of math class was rather boring. We had homework _yet again_. We all were let out of the classroom when the bell rang, and Berwald and I left around the same time. We did sit next to each other, after all, and our next class would be with each other. So it'd only make sense that we'd sort of walk together.

I really wanted to talk to him, but I didn't really know what to say, or even what to talk about! I still felt nervous, and a little nauseous, though not as much now. I was still holding my backpack, and he was holding his as well, but for some reason, his didn't look as heavy as mine. We walked in the hallways, passing by other people and wedging ourselves between crowds. Neither of us said anything for quite some time, and the silence was killing me!

"Uhm, Berwald?" I tried to get his attention, walking a little closer to him.

He turned around to look at me, slowing his rather quick pace.

"I'm sorry if I seemed a little…avoidant of you or something…I'm sorry…" I was getting embarrassed and fidgety now, I knew it.

"'S fine," He said calmly, smiling a little.

"Uhm…" I paused again, taking a deep breath before I'd say anything. "N—Norway said that…he said that you like me…" I looked up at him, "Is that…true?"

I saw Berwald's pupils contract slightly, and there was a faint red hue around his cheekbones. He nodded, "He's r'ght…"

So…So then it was true? Well, I solved one mystery, but there were thousands of others to learn about. Why me? I didn't really know if I was ready for a relationship or anything. I had known Berwald for a month or two now, but it still seemed like I hardly knew the guy. He never really talked about himself, so it was hard to learn about him—for me, at least.

"You…you do like me?" I asked, my eyes widening a little. Why was I acting surprised when I already knew this morning? Maybe I was just caught up in the moment, or something.

"Yes," Berwald said quietly, his cheeks blushing a little brighter, and he looked away.

"How much?" I asked, feeling a little guilty again after saying it. I had forced his 'secret' out of him, and then now I was interrogating him. Oh, I felt horrible! But…but I wanted to be sure. I didn't want to make any wrong moves. Wrong decisions would always lead to bad memories, and I've had quite a few. If I was going to like him back, I wanted to be sure that he _really_ liked me, and wasn't just infatuated with me. Infatuation _never_ lasts.

Berwald was quiet for a moment as we still walked to our classroom. I saw him exhale, and then take a deep breath, and he looked at me with a determined expression. "W'll ya let me hold ya h'nd?"

"H—hold my hand?" I mimicked him.

He nodded, still looking quite serious.

Well, at least he was asking. And at least it wasn't for a kiss. But then again, he didn't seem to be that type of guy.

"Sure…I guess…" I said in a somewhat hesitant voice. I let my right hand hang down by my side, limp and relaxed. We continued walking rather slowly as I watched his left hand unfurl and grasp mine tightly. It wasn't _too_ tight, but it wasn't loose either. His hand was warm, and his skin wasn't rough (which was a relief). His palms weren't sweaty, either! I was a little surprised about that. I wondered what my hand felt like to him. His hands were so much bigger than mine, I noticed. Our fingers were interlaced, and in this silence, an even greater wave of awkwardness arose.

Should either one of us say anything? I'd probably ruin the moment if I tried to change the subject or say anything at all, really. I tried relaxing a little, exhaling subtly. His hand was still gently clamped around mine. I almost wanted to pull away a little, but I didn't want to hurt him. He liked me this much? Enough to _ask_ if he could hold my hand? He also didn't seem to mind that it wasn't in secret. I saw some of the other students eye us and our linked hands as we continued walking to our next class.

"Look! What a bunch of homos!" I heard someone say. I had no idea who it was, but already, I was angry!

"Pffsht, fags…" I heard another in a sarcastic tone.

Was Berwald not even paying attention!? Or was he ignoring them? Either way, those comments were really bugging me!

"Berwald," I said, turning to him, and he turned to look at me. "You don't mind that I'm not a girl, do you? Does that…bother you?"

He shook his head, "Doesn't matt'r," He said rather softly, "I still like ya, T'no. Wouldn't matt'r if ya were a boy or'a g'rl." I saw the corners of his mouth turn upwards for a moment, looking like a fleeting smile. His sea green eyes softened a little, and he held my hand a little tighter.

"It doesn't…matter to you?" I asked for verification.

He shook his head slowly, "N't one bit."

I smiled a little in response. Maybe my opinion of Berwald was all wrong. Norway was right, he was pretty nice. Maybe a relationship with him _would_ be good for me like Norway had suggested. I still had time to mull it over in our next class

---

Sorry for changing POVs on you guys! xD I just had a feeling that we needed to hear Tino's opinion on the whole thing. Sorry if Tino's head was a little boring. OTL I try to make a few differences in style when changing POVs in a 1st person story, but sorry if it wasn't very interesting. Most of the story will be told in Berwald's POV, fyi, so don't worry! = 7 = Thank you for reading and reviewing and I'll try to get more out since it's NaNoWriMo or something… Give me opinions and suggestions! Thanks!!


	5. Provoke

Roflcopters, I seem to be failing you guys, but don't worry! _ lll I'll keep trying. Fffu. I don't have school this Wednesday through Friday, so I'll try to crank out ch6 or something. C: Ideas, comments, opinions and suggestions are always welcomed in reviews!! = 7 = Thanks everyone who reads!!

---

I leaned against the counter, staring at my left hand as my toast started to warm up. I flexed it a few times, bringing back the elated feeling I had when I had held his hand. His skin was as smooth as I had imagined it to be, though his hands were a little cold. They still felt nice, though. As I curled my hand slightly, I could remember the feeling of his hand sitting in mine. It almost felt as though I was holding his hand again, but I could clearly see that I was not. There was nothing in my hand—nothing but air.

The small silver box sitting on the countertop sprang into action and forced up the piece of toast I had put in it a few moments prior. It had snapped me out of my memories, and I reached for it, gingerly letting it drop onto my plate as to not hurt myself from the high temperature it had been cooking in. I turned around to a small square table that was a ways back. Usually, it was filled with Denmark's things, like homework that he failed to complete, or candy wrappers, or whatever miscellaneous things he could think of. Today, it was not, however. I had cleared it off the night before, a little agitated that he had dominated the table with his clutter.

I set my plate down on the table, pulling the chair out a little and sat down. As I'd usually do, I picked up the piece of toast with one hand. "What was that back there?" Denmark interrupted me. I set down the piece of toast and leaned back to look at him. He smirked slyly at me and eased into the chair opposite me, sitting rather informally. His spine was slouched, and he had an arm over the head of the chair, his head tilted slightly.

"Wh't was wh't?" I asked, narrowing my eyes a bit.

"Oh c'mon," He rolled his eyes, "You know what I'm talking about, Waldy."

Despite claims that I _did_ know what he was talking about, I really didn't. Shrugging my shoulders, I picked up my piece of toast again. "Oh, don't play dumb!" Denmark whined like a squeaky door.

"Wh't!?" I asked with half of my mouth full with toast. Asking Denmark to be subtle in conversation would be the equivalent of asking a clown with a megaphone wearing pink camo to stroll around in a crowd unnoticed. He had the conversational grace of a crippled swan. But then again I wasn't very gifted in conversation, either…

Denmark's smile widened and his eyes narrowed even further, "Did you say something to Tino, hnn?" He cooed at me, resting his head on both hands.

I averted my eyes but felt my cheeks burning a little. Now I see what Norway meant; Denmark did have a way of getting on people's nerves just being himself. I nodded once, taking another bite of toast.

"Tell me what happened~" Denmark cooed again, being absolutely ridiculous about the whole thing. He chucked through his teeth, "Did you kiss him or anything?"

I must have breathed wrong, because I coughed after he said that. After swallowing my food and clearing my throat, I shook my head. His smile drooped. "Did anything happen?" Denmark asked again, looking a little dismayed.

My expression must have been too serious. I lead him to think something else…

"Ah h'ld 'is hand, tho'." I admitted meekly.

"Aaah," Denmark marveled quietly, his expression brightening. "You did?"

I nodded.

"How cute~" He jumped up out of his seat and patted me head, "Oh, they grow up so fast!!" He whispered in an unnecessary dramatic voice.

"Go git ready!" I snapped at him, pushing him off of me.

"I'm going, I'm going!" He smirked again, trotting off and started to advance down the hall. Before he was completely out of view, he turned around and said in a high pitched voice, "Oh, Berwald, you hands are so big!" I imagine he was attempting to imitate Tino, for the sentence to follow made me want to punch him in the face.

"Well ya know what they say about big hands!" Denmark said in a lower voice, hiding behind the wall to demonstrate that he was trying to play two different people. I assumed the lower voice was supposed to represent me, but Denmark's acting skills needed a lot of work.

"Oh, Berwald!" Denmark imitated in the high pitched voice again, gasping lightly.

I quickly rose from my seat and slammed both hands down; the plate on the table rattled a little. "D'nmark!" I yelled.

At first, he sort of snorted with laughter, then recoiled, and thundered down the hallway in a fit of frenzied laughter. "Bwahaha!" He echoed, "Jeez, Berwald, take it easy!"

I had already finished my toast and had set the plate in the sink. I could brush my teeth later. I was leaving. Without Denmark.

---

I heaved a heavy sigh, albeit quiet. I was beginning to feel doubt well up within me. I glanced at Tino out of the corner of my eye. He was avidly writing down notes that we were supposed to be taking, but my mind was elsewhere. And although I probably should have been, I didn't feel very interested in jotting down notes. It seemed like nothing had changed between us. Had I just been dreaming or something? When I had entered the class room like I always did every morning, Tino said hello to me only when I greeted him first. He seemed a little bit distracted today, but who knows. Maybe it's me who's out of it.

"T'no," I called lightly to him after our class was done with note taking.

"Hn?" He turned around to look at me, spinning around attentively. He didn't seem distracted at all.

"Are we…" I paused, leaning in a little closer. "Are we go'in' out now…? Me 'n you…" It sounded awkward no matter how many different ways I tried to phrase it mentally.

Tino blinked a bit, looking like I could have said anything at all and he wouldn't have really understood. Maybe he hadn't heard me.

"T'no, are w—"

"Yes," He interrupted me with a soft voice. "I guess…I guess we are." He smiled. I saw his cheeks reddened a little, and the hot feeling returned to my face as well. So then…it wasn't a dream. That was a relief.

Math class was over now, but Tino and I didn't have much of a chance to talk to each other despite sitting next to each other. Our teacher was in somewhat of a foul mood, and was a bit snippier about chatter than he usually was.

I waited for Tino outside of the door, and our eyes met as he exited the classroom. He smiled faintly, and started walking with me. As we started walking, an awkward silence rose up again. As much as I disliked awkward silences, I was hardly the type to do anything about it. But as Tino stepped aside for a passing student, he leaned in a little closer to me. He quickly brushed up against me, and our fingertips touched. Without even realizing what I was doing my hand curled around his.

He was a little startled and looked up at me. "S'rry," I let out forcefully and instinctively let go of his hand.

"It's fine," He replied, and looked a little dejected.

I reached for his hand again, and held it a little tighter this time. Tino looked up again and his violet eyes softened a little. "Ya d'n't mind?"

He squeezed my hand a little, and leaned in a little closer to my arm. "Not really,"

With that small motion, the cloud of doubt had disappeared. I was still a little insecure and confused about what to do with this new relationship, but with that small gesture I knew I wasn't making a total fool out of myself. But now a new feeling arose. What level was our relationship? What would be considered 'too far' at this point other than the obvious? I knew now wasn't the time nor the place, but I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold him. I wanted to hold him close to me. He was the most important person in my life, at this point. It sounded rather stupid on the basis that we had only known each other for a few months, but those few months had really meant a lot to me.

"Berwald?" Tino asked me, and I looked over at him. His mouth was opened slightly, and a faint glimpse of his teeth was exposed. His teeth were pretty straight; I hadn't taken the time to notice. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I nodded, "'M fine."

"Oh, okay," He said softly, leaning in closer towards me.

---

Though things proved to have worked out at lunch, our somewhat ritualistic seating arrangements were changed. Norway and Iceland sat on one end of the table, while I sat next to Tino and Denmark. Norway had insisted that he'd rather not sit next to my overpower roommate. Iceland had seemed to be a little out of the loop, but quickly caught on to what was happening.

"Berwald and…Tino?" He had asked.

Norway nodded, "Yep. It's official."

I earned some of Denmark's teasing again, but seeing as there wasn't the applauding response he had been hoping for, he quieted down a little. Why did he always aim to be the comedic one in a group of quiet people?

Things seemed okay, but I still had this odd feeling. I didn't know quite what it was, but I didn't like it. I still felt it in me when I held Tino's hand under the table. I didn't think it was regret or anxiety, but it still lingered with me. I tried to ignore it, but it seemed to want to reside in my throat. There was this strange lump near the place where my neck and collar bone met. It felt internal, so I had originally assumed it was food-related. But after I while I knew it wasn't. No matter how many times I tried to clear my throat or cough, it still persisted.

---

School was over now. The majority of the students had already retreated to their dorm rooms to do whatever they did. There were still some people lingering around in classrooms for whatever reason, and people who just liked to venture out after class. Tino was walking with me again, to my delight. The times were he seemed to just ignore me didn't even feel real. He'd happily hold my hand, wearing a small, delicate smile on his face. "Today feels like a good day." He smiled optimistically, I'm sure he was just trying to ease my apprehensive mood. I guess my face was a dead giveaway that something was bothering me.

"Nn," I nodded.

We weren't walking anywhere in particular, but just anywhere at all. I had realized that despite being in the same building for more than a month or two, I hadn't explored much. I hadn't really gone anywhere other than where my classes were. It seemed to be a bit of a shame, seeing as how expansive this boarding school was.

The both of us rounded a corner, still just taking in each others' company. I wanted to do something for Tino. He had already asked me if I was feeling okay in almost all of the classes we were in together. He may not have acted this way before, but he was concerned for me now. I should appreciate that more.

"T'no," I called to him softly.

"Hm?" He perked up when I called his name.

My heart started fluttering at what I knew I was going to do. I was entirely aware of my own future actions, but the rest of me still seemed to be freaking out. Why couldn't all of me just cooperate with itself?

I leaned down a little and broke our interlacing fingers so that I could place both hands on his shoulders and kiss him. In the short moment that our lips touched, I felt his frantic breath flow into my mouth. I pulled away, feeling selfish now. Neither of us said anything. I only realized that I had pressed him up against a wall just now. I had cornered him. His mouth was slightly agape, eyelashes fluttering a bit like small, black wings. I couldn't tell by his facial expression alone if I had made a mistake, or had done something he liked.

I felt my own selfish needs well up in me again, replacing the odd feeling in my throat. My arms slid around him, pulling him closer to me as I kissed him again. Though, unlike the first time, I felt him kissing back. His arms slid across my ribcage and faintly touched my spine. His touch was so faint, but I could still feel his arms around me. My arms migrated down to his waist, where I still held him close to me.

I could hear a faint chuckle in the distance, and looked up, breaking our kiss. There was another student standing there—I could tell by what he was wearing that he was a fellow student. He was wearing the same uniform that Tino and I were wearing. Though there was something about him that was unnervingly disturbing. His head was hung down a bit, his silvery-blond hair obscuring his eyes. "What's this…?" He asked, looking up.

His eyes were a blazing violet, pupils shrunk down to small black dots in the center of each eye.

"I—Ivan…!" Tino turned around a bit, but still stayed close to me. He quickly felt for my hand and held it tightly, his grip tightening the more this Ivan person stood there. Ivan? That name sounded unusually familiar…No…Ivan! This was the first time I had seen his face, but I remembered what Norway had told me about Ivan. He used to bully Tino.

"You didn't tell me you got a new boyfriend!" Ivan smiled, though I knew instantly this smile was no average friendly smile.

Tino turned his face away from Ivan, "Berwald…let's…"

"Why leave so soon, Tino?" Ivan asked in a somewhat saddened tone that was essentially fake. He took a few steps closer to us and glanced at me. His lips quickly curled up into a smile and his gaze returned to Tino. As he spoke, Tino cringed and pulled closer to me. His eyes were squeezed shut. "I haven't seen you in so long, Tino…"

"Leave," I demanded, furrowing my brow.

"Hm!" Ivan sounded, examining me with his hollow eyes. I had known for the vast majority of my life that I was taller than 'average', but this guy was a bit taller than I was. "You like the tall, strong types, eh, Tino?" He laughed, glancing at the cowering boy who was clinging to my arm.

"Leave," I repeated in the same deep tone.

"Does it bother you that I loved Tino first?" He smiled, tilting his head to one side.

W—what? Ivan? _This_ person?

My expression must have been traumatized. "Oh? You didn't know?" He laughed through his nose, "Tino didn't tell me much either…The only redeeming quality he has are his looks…"

"D'n't t'lk 'bout T'no like th't!" I yelled fiercely, and balled up a fist. My right fist was aimed for Ivan's face. I quickly pulled free of Tino's grasp around my left arm as I hurled a fist at Ivan.

He quickly dodged it, and countered by taking the same arm and bending it behind my back. My own foolish actions were set into motion so fast that I hardly had time to comprehend what was really going on. I didn't hit Ivan, and now he had me at a disadvantage. My heart was palpitating wildly; my breathing was sped up too. I held my head low, not wishing to face Tino, who I could see was still pressed up with his back to the wall. Ivan laughed lightly again, his grip tight around my wrist and elbow. "This hurts?" He asked childishly, pressing my arm upward in an unnatural position.

I clenched my teeth tightly as to not let out much noise. I looked weak, and I didn't want to let Tino see me any weaker. "Mmmmm," Ivan started, looking pensive, "I take that back. Tino was a good kisser. His lips were always soft…"

I squirmed a bit, trying to break free of Ivan's grasp if I could. He let out a refined laugh, but only tightened his grip on my arm. He'd dislocate my arm if he pushed up anymore. Tino said nothing. He made no sound at all.

"Ivan…!" Another voice sounded, and he turned around, pulling me a bit with him. Two other boys showed up, their footsteps preceding them. One was a boy with long brunette hair and a dreadfully worried expression. Beside him was another, a bit taller, and a blond with rectangular glasses. "Ivan…!" The brunette continued to plead.

"Toris?" Ivan said in a simpler, gentler tone. "Eduard? What are you doing here?"

"Let him go, Ivan." The blond said in a firmer tone. The brunette nodded in response to his words.

"Leave Tino alone, Ivan…" The brunette Ivan referred to as 'Toris' said. "You promised us that you would."

"Did I?" Ivan asked, sounding as though he didn't remember making such a promise. He was distracted, and his grip had weakened. I used my other arm to free myself, squirming and jabbed Ivan with my elbow. Ivan still looked a little dazed from what the two other boys had said to pay much attention to Tino and I.

Without even thinking, I rushed up to Tino and wrapped my arms around him. He wasn't crying, but he was breathing so fast. I felt his heart beat franticly as he was pressed up against me. His arms reached around me as his fingers dug into my spine. Even with just Ivan being here, Tino was in pain.

"Tino…" I had distinguished the blonde's voice. He sounded sympathetic. Maybe he was once Tino's friend.

"Please," Toris begged with his voice. "Leave both of them alone."

"Fine," Ivan said rather emotionlessly, with his back facing us. "Let's go. I was getting bored, anyway…Tino's new boyfriend wasn't hardly as entertaining as I thought he'd be…"

Ivan left with the other two boys. I turned to Tino, whose head was buried in my chest.

"…Berwald…" He let out softly.

"Nn?" I asked gently, caressing his face with a hand.

"…I…I h—hate Ivan…"

---

Emo chapter of emo. Lol kay, I brought in the Baltics (but not Latvia 'cause he seems too young. |: And sorry for like neglecting Iceland. OTL I need to talk about him moar. Thanks for reading and reviewing!!


	6. Misunderstanding

Holy nuts. D: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I guess I've been busy with school, family, birthdays and the upcoming holidays. Thank you for being so patient with me and I'll try to do my best. I'll also try to add in a holiday or Finland's birthday chapter (They might be late…) but I'll try! n v n Thank you for reading!!!

----

Though I was asleep, I could sub-consciously hear what was going on around me. My bed was a little closer to the door than Denmark's was, but not by much. I stirred in my sleep lightly as I heard the door to our dorm room gently click open. The door closed quietly again, and feet shuffled against the carpet as they approached my bed.

The springs shifted and squeaked, trying to compensate balance between my weight and the new weight that was leaning on my bed. I let out a groggy grumble, and opened my eyes. It was too dark to really tell what was happening—I couldn't really see at all. My already impaired vision in addition to darkness was not really the greatest combo. The vague silhouette of a person scooted closer to me and slipped under the blankets beside me.

Now I was awake. This other person had frighteningly cold hands, and I reflexively scooted closer to the wall. "Who 'r you?" I forced out in an angry whisper.

"It's only me…" A weak whisper replied to me in a gentle voice. It was Tino.

Now that my eyes had adjusted, the space that the curtains didn't cover was more than enough light. Through the leaking moonlight, Tino's pale blond hair reflected light on one side of his face, and his scared violet eyes could be seen.

"Wh't're ya doin' 'n mah bed?" I questioned him, feeling my face increase in temperature around my cheeks. I hoped he couldn't see that I was blushing like an inferno.

"I was scared…and lonely…" Tino admitted to me. "And cold, too."

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in, sinking back under my blankets and rested my head on the pillow. I put an arm around Tino and held him close to me. His head slowly fell to the pillow and he looked back at me. His violet eyes still held a bit of a reflection with the moon's light.

"Th't bett'r?" I asked him, smiling lightly. I could feel the goose bumps on his arms and how cold his hands were. He wasn't lying about being cold.

"Yes," He whispered lightly and scooted closer to me, resting his head on my collar bone. "Much…better…"

---

I opened my eyes that morning to discover that Tino was gently resting in my arms. So then it wasn't a dream! His own arms were curled up towards his torso, and his mouth was slightly open. He was breathing gently out of his mouth, seeming so utterly calm and peaceful—like some sort of angel. That simile sounded so corny in my head, but at least no one had to hear it.

The calm and elated feeling I was having with Tino in my arms as he slept was nearly shattered at the sound of Denmark's laugh.

My greenish eyes darted up to glare at him, sitting at the breakfast table in a somewhat disheveled state with a piece of toast in one hand. "You two've been like that for the past hour!" He laughed through his teeth. "What were you two doin' last night, eh, Waldy? I wake up and find little Tino there in your bed, hah! You're more straightforward than I cut you slack for, Berwald."

"N'thin' happ'ned!" I said rather forcefully, though tried to quiet myself as to not disturb the sleeping Tino. I looked down to see if he was still sleeping, and he was. If I was going to explain to Denmark what had happened, I'd have to do it without having to worry about waking up Tino. So, I gently pulled one of my arms out from under him carefully, resulting in Tino let out a small groan. I carefully tried to remove myself from my own bed and moved over Tino. I let out a small sigh as I stood up and straightened my spine.

"Riiiiiight," Denmark said sarcastically, setting down the piece of toast. "You expect me ta believe that nothing happened when you both were in the same bed?"

N'thin' happ'ned!" I protested further.

"There's no need to be shy 'bout it, Waldy." Denmark smirked, wearing his rather crooked smile in a way that made him seem more devious than usual. "In fact, we should celebrate!" Denmark could often jump to the wrong conclusion, which he usually did. In his haste, he quickly stood up and hammered a fist in the table, "Today's the day that Berwald's a man!!"

"Ssssh!!" I whispered forcefully, though the sound I had made sounded rather like a snake's. "W'ke up T'no 'n ah'll kill ya!"

"Just calm down, Waldy…Heh…" Denmark muttered, finishing his piece of toast and dropped the plate off in the sink. "Don't go killin' me just yet… You can kill me after tha' wedding." Denmark smiled ridiculously and gave a thumbs up before disappearing down the hallway to brush his teeth.

"Weddin'?" I muttered aloud to myself, instantly imagining what a wedding for Tino and I would look like. A wedding…A wedding… I imagined myself linking arms with Tino as we'd both exit a church with a flurry of rice flying around. I was in a black tuxedo and Tino was in a white wedding dre—… Why did I just imagine Tino in a dress?

I brought a hand to my face in my shameful thinking. I cringed more at the fact that Tino looked very nice in that wedding dress…

I heard a gasp behind me and I span around reflexively. Tino was sitting straight up with a rather scared look on his face. "Oh my god!" He quickly sputtered and put his hands over his mouth. He stared at the messy blankets and sheets he was resting on and then at the room he was in. He must have realized by now that it wasn't the room he was accustomed to waking up in.

"T'no," I muttered, trying to walk closer to him.

He quickly lept out of my bed and dashed out, slamming the door behind him. Did…Did he forget about wandering into my bed _himself?_ Already, this looked pretty bad.

"Da hellw wuz 'at?" Denmark said with a toothbrush in his mouth, craning his neck into the hallway. "Di' T'no jus' s'am da do'?

I nodded.

Denmark's smile grew and his eyes narrowed as he pulled his head back into the bathroom.

What had I gotten myself into? Denmark was a hard sleeper, and snored on occasion, which was why he didn't wake up when Tino wandered in. Since when did Denmark wake up first!?

Both of us got ready and left our room. Denmark had a crazy smile on his face the whole time. I was just about ready to punch him for it, but Norway appeared.

"Hello," He waved to Denmark and I. He almost smiled at me, but furrowed his brow when he saw Denmark's stupid expression.

"Hey, hey, Norgey, I got somthin' ta—"

Norway had interrupted him by hitting Denmark on the head with a book he was carrying. Denmark cringed and let out a sharp, pained cry. "What the hell was thaaaaat for!?" He whined, rubbing his head.

"I've told you not to call me 'Norgey'; my name is Norway."

I started to walk away to my first class of the day, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Denmark whisper something in Norway's ear. And much to Norway's surprise, he yelled, "What!? He did!?"

"Yeeeee'up!" Denmark replied haughtily, "Grow up so fast, don't they!" He said in a sappy, overly dramatic tone.

"So that's why Tino rushed in…I wondered why he wasn't there when I woke up…"

Oh, god. Not Norway too…Even Tino himself had jumped to the same conclusion that Denmark had. And now Denmark had told Norway! Even though I knew I had to set everyone straight, I just didn't know how…

---

My gym period with Iceland was somewhat relaxing. At least he didn't know what had apparently 'happened'. We were all lined up for roll call; I was leaning against the wall with Iceland. While just looking around absentmindedly, I had noticed that the blond with glasses and the brunette named Toris were both in my gym class. I hadn't really noticed them before, but then again I didn't really notice anyone unless I was to interact with him.

I thought of the possibility that maybe Iceland would know who they both were.

"Icel'nd," I nudged him, and he looked over to me.

"What is it, Berwald?"

"D'ya know who th'se ta are?" I said rather quietly, subtly pointing to the two I had seen stop Ivan.

"Them?" Iceland asked, raising his brows. "I'm not so sure about the brunette guy, but the blond one is Eduard—he and Tino were childhood friends. They were sort of neighbors for a while, but then Ivan showed up and kind of wrecked their friendship." Iceland shrugged, "If you're curious, why not just ask Tino yourself? You're going out with him, aren't you?"

"Y—yeah…" I muttered, averting my eyes. "It j'st seems like a l't happ'ned bef're I g't here…I d'n't re'lly know 'bout any of yer pasts…"

"It's fine," Iceland smiled gently. "Just don't really worry about it. If it's important, I'm sure Tino will tell you."

"R'ght…" I muttered with a nod.

As we started to run laps, I noticed that Eduard came up from behind and started to run beside me. "Sorry about Ivan!" He rasped with a smile.

"Hn?" I questioned back, slowing down a little. Eduard looked like he was straining a bit to keep up with me. I glanced at Iceland, and gestured that he could keep going ahead of me.

"Y—you're Tino's boyfriend…right?" Eduard inquired, trying to regain his breath.

I nodded.

"Good!" He smiled and added a laugh, "I just wanted to say sorry about the other day."

"'S fine…" I muttered noncommittally.

"No it's not!" Eduard said with a smile. "Tino used to be my best friend, so I think it's safe for me to say that I know him pretty well. Ivan's been acting rather strangely in the past few months—ever since Tino broke up with him. Ivan really isn't a bad guy when you get to know him, but your first impression of him must have been more than appalling." Eduard added a rather nervous laugh. I wondered if he was just trying to lighten the mood. He probably wasn't used to my 'normal' expression, and might have been intimidated. I was a good few inches taller than him.

"I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about Ivan!" Eduard smiled, pushing up his glasses a bit as he continued to run.

I nodded slowly, not really sure what this Eduard guy was really trying to prove.

---

Abrupt ending is abrupt. :c Kay well, thanks for waiting a whole month, guys!! Sorry I've been hideously slow n all. I bet I've lost readers from my lack of update! :'D Sob. Well, I tried to add in a bit more Iceland, and Norway did beat Denmark with a book. So there ya go! Please try to tell me more advice/ideas. I'm srsly runnin' out gaiz. ; c ;


	7. To Present a Present

= v = Here's your [retardedly late] Christmas present from me, guys! Hope you like this chapter. It doesn't really have anything to with the last chapter really, but here's your Christmas special. I'll do the last chapter in Tino's POV like everyone wants me to. |D Merry Christmas, guys!!

Edit: LMFAO. OH LORD. Sorry this is like…really late guys… :D Don't shoot me, a'ight?

___

Norway sighed lightly, massaging his templates with a hand. "Tino's gotten worse," He said in a somewhat flustered tone. He had just arrived at the room that Denmark and I were staying in. Though it was Christmas break, students were able to stay at school if they wanted to. Norway, his brother Iceland, Denmark, Tino and I all stayed at school.

_Worse?_ I asked myself, sitting up in my seat and my muscles grew tense for a moment. Was Tino okay? What had happened to him? My mind panicked for a moment.

"Worse?" Denmark asked for me, running a hand through his wild blond hair. "Are you serious?" Unlike his usual snide and nonchalant tone, he sound rather worried. My throat tightened with anticipation.

"I hardly ever joke, Denmark." Norway said rather grimly, glaring straight at Denmark.

"W'rse!?" I asked in an anxious tone, leaning forward suddenly. "Wh't's happ'ned ta T'no? 'S 'e ok'y?"

Both Norway and Denmark stared at me for a moment, Norway looking a little surprised, and Denmark looked rather confused. I looked at both of them for a moment, a slight awkward pause among us as I had burst out in question.

"Easy, easy, Berwald," Denmark smiled genially, and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Norway's just a little too serious. Nothin's wrong with your boyfriend."

My muscles relaxed, and I sunk back in my seat a little. I felt myself heave a little sigh of relief. But… If Tino was fine, what was 'worse'? I kept quiet in hopes that Norway would explain himself.

Our friend heaved yet another little sigh and relaxed his shoulders, "Of course, you'd already know, Denmark, but what's gotten worse is Tino's festive behavior."

"F'stive?" I mimicked, hoping for the blond boy with a rather aloof expression to delve a bit more.

"I'm surprised you haven't found out earlier, but Tino's in love with Christmas." The tone the boy was using was almost mocking me, but then again that could have just been my imagination. Norway always seemed to be a little on edge, regardless of what he was talking about.

"…Ah know 'is b'rthday is 'n D'cember…does…" I stumbled over my words, not even really know what I wanted to say at all.

"Tino's been in love with Christmas since he was born, I think." Norway sighed. "But he really doesn't have to make so many paper chains; our room's a complete mess!"

"How bad _is_ it, Norgey?" Denmark implored, looking rather curious. Denmark's crooked grin just grew a bit bigger. The three of us were all sitting at the table that Denmark and I would occasionally sit at for breakfast. Norway wasn't really sitting on a chair, but he had managed to pile up enough random clutter around the room to make a pseudo-chair, and at least it worked for him at the moment. He didn't complain.

"Don't call me that, I told you," Norway glared at his friend coldly with his icy eyes, "But anyway, the whole room is a just mess of red, green and white paper. It's kind of hard to tell what anything was. Tino _actually_ has a tree in our room. I have no idea where he got it, but he must have cut it down himself. It's a little uneven…but don't tell him I told you. He might get a little offended… He's decorated it quite nicely, I might add, but he's going all out, like always."

"What's the story on presents, Norgey?" Denmark asked, slumping in his seat, staring at his friend.

"Stop calling me Norgey or I'll seriously beat you—"

"C'mon, Norway~ What's Tino got in store for us this year, eh?" Denmark smiled, swaying his head from side to side in a merry fashion.

"Well, I don't really know much this year, Denmark. Tino kicked me out just now. He's busy wrapping everyone's presents. He didn't tell me what they were, but he's got presents for all of us—even you, Berwald." Norway turned to me and stared at me with his rather steel-colored eyes. He seemed to be one of the only people who could stare at me square in the eye without being intimidated a little. I guess we had similar gazes.

"M—me?" I stuttered in surprise, feeling my cheeks redden and rise in temperature a bit. If only I didn't have to blush so much… I was probably just over exaggerating, though.

Denmark stifled a rather loud laugh by biting his lower lip, his devious smile curling. "D'aw, you two are so cute together. This Christmas will be the best Christmas in a while, eh, Norway?"

"Sure," Norway nodded and then shrugged his shoulders. "It'll be interesting to see Berwald's reaction to all of Tino's festivity. He could win awards for some of the things he does, but there aren't any contests, really, so there're no awards to give him…"

"I don't think the four of us have really had an exciting Christmas since Iceland went ice skating by himself and fell in, but forgot to bring some extra pants so he had to go pantsless for a while! Ahah!!"

Norway stared at Denmark oddly, "What the hell's wrong with your memory? After Iceland came back, I just let him borrow a pair of my pants. We're brothers anyway, so we're about the same size. "

"Oh," Denmark's jovial expression quickly dropped when he realized that his memory was more of a daydream than a real memory. Having found he had just been corrected from a memory he found to be thoroughly hilarious, Denmark scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh. No one seemed to be paying attention to him at this point, though.

"Oh, Berwald," Norway turned to me.

"Yes?" I asked, rising by eyebrows with slight anticipation.

"I just wanted to remind you to buy something for Tino. Now that you two are going out, it'd be a little sad if you didn't buy him a Christmas present, you know?" Norway's eyes were half closed, and he was looking sympathetic. He seemed close to Tino…Maybe I should ask him what to get him.

"Oh, r'ght," I nodded a few times, clearing my throat once. It was different to think of my first Christmas not being single. It would be…a little different.

I then thought of what I should buy Tino. I paused, trying to think that would be good. Despite having known Tino for a few months, I had no idea what he'd want as a gift. I was sort of lost, at this point.

"Nn, Waldy!!" Denmark interrupted me from my train of thought, waving his hand in front of my face a few times. I blinked at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's been like this for a few years now, but Tino always calls everyone together to have a Christmas party over at his place…though now it's sort of Tino and Norgey's place…"

Despite Norway's warnings, Denmark still referred to the boy by his nickname. As a result, Norway lashed out and elbowed Denmark in the forehead. The movement was so sudden, I jolted back in recoil. Denmark snapped back and cupped both hands over his forehead, letting out a shrill yell in pain. "Shiiiiit!" He whined, cringing. "The hell, Norgey. The hell." He glared at his friend, still massaging his injury.

Norway glared coolly at him, "I told you not to call me that."

"You bitch!" Denmark screeched, still having both hands on his forehead. And as Denmark continued to whine in pain, Norway turned back to me and said, "Yes, Tino always has a party wherever he is, which happens to be his room with me this year. We'll all be there, and I'm sure he'll want you come as well."

"Ah p'rty?" I mumbled under my breath, slightly smiling at the idea. I then nodded, hoping Norway would see that as a sign that I wanted to attend it. I saw the corners of his mouth curl upwards in response, but he soon lost them as soon as Denmark opened his mouth again.

"Just make sure you don't screw anything up!" He said proudly, giving me a thumbs up. As a stared at him quite speechlessly, I couldn't help but notice the giant red mark on his forehead that Norway had given him.

---

A few days later, the Christmas holiday approaching, I found myself sitting quite absentmindedly at the small table in the kitchen area of our dorm. I blinked a few times, trying to come up with some idea. I didn't know what to get Tino for Christmas. I felt so stupid, but at the same time I didn't want to try to rush an idea and be impulsive, only for the present to seem rather ill thought or not personal enough. I wanted it to be special, as it was Christmas, but I still couldn't think of a solution that would solve all of my problems.

Denmark was with Norway and Iceland at the closest town to our boarding school. There were things like cafés and a rather expansive public library amongst other things. The city was quite close to the school, though usually students couldn't venture that far away from the school without some sort of permission. I didn't really know where Tino was, but I was by myself in the dorm room. It was at this moment that I realized how stiflingly quiet the room was without Denmark.

Even if he did joke a lot and generally goof off, he was a pretty good friend. I never really felt alone when he was around, though I used to be accustomed to feeling rather alone before I came to the school. But because I had grown used to having him around almost always, it felt so empty without him.

I rested a hand on one of my temples, and tried to wrack my brains for some sort of idea on what to get him. I knew he liked cute things, and seemed to be effeminate at times, but I couldn't get him something a _girl_ would want, could I? I didn't really want to insult him…

Getting up from my seat at the table, I grew rather frustrated and quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a yellow pencil that looked like it was nearly dead. My fingers started to race across the page with the new idea for a plan I had just come up with. I needed to plan it first, I told myself. If I didn't, there would be a lot of room to make mistakes, and I could be a bit of a perfectionist when I made things by myself.

After I had finished drawing the rough outline, I started shading lightly with the smooth edge of the lead. As I was nearing completion of my sketch, my blue-green eyes glanced up to look at the analog clock on the wall, realizing that over an hour had passed. Still knowing I had time to start and finish what I wanted to make Tino for Christmas, I put everything away, checking to make sure that my sewing materials were still in the same place as I had put them a few months ago.

I rarely sewed, but I usually kept the materials and things with me. I had made it a point with myself to hide them well, I didn't really want to be joked at or ridiculed for being able to sew, and I knew that if Denmark saw, I'd probably never be able to live it down…

As I had assumed, Denmark and the rest of the party showed up about ten minutes later. Seeing as Norway had cunning, he had turned the Dane into a pack mule, and forced him to carry all of the presents and gifts that they bought. Denmark walked in with his arms full of bags and tissue paper peeking out over the edge like something secretive. The colors of the bags were rather erratic, some being neon and others rather plain looking. The tall blond dropped everything down on his bed and heaved a heavy sigh as the two brothers quickly followed in pursuit, and Iceland closed the door behind them.

"C'ris'm's sh'pp'ng?" I asked with a faint smile, noting that Denmark looked genuinely tired as he was slumped on his bed and the two brothers looked quite fine.

"Yes," Norway replied.

"We got everyone's presents, all in one go!" Iceland added rather confidently. He added a faint smile, and also slipped out, "And we made Denmark carry them all!"

"Ah c'n see th't…" I mumbled, looking over at Denmark who had still said nothing.

"Everything's already individually wrapped," Norway announced with his matter-of-fact tone, "So we don't have to worry about that. Did you think of anything to get Tino?"

"Ah, yes," I nodded rather vigorously, smiling to myself at what I had planned.

"Oh," Norway smiled rather gently, "That's good."

Iceland looked around the room for a moment, obviously looking a bit confused. "Where's Tino?" He asked, sounding as though he had expected him to be here with me.

I shrugged, letting out some sort of mumble that couldn't have even been strung into a phrase by me.

Norway looked confused as well, "I thought he'd be with you Berwald…"

I shook my head, "N—nah…he's n't…"

"He's…" Denmark puffed, still lying on his back. "He's with…Eduard."

"Eduard?" Norway asked in a surprised tone. "Do you have any why he's over there?"

"Nah, none in the…slightest…" Denmark sighed, slowly lurching into a sitting up position, where he leaned against the wall and looked quite pathetic compared to his usual energetic self.

While I was lying in bed that night, it was sort of eating at my why Tino had been with Eduard. I knew I was just getting a little jealous, but it seemed like everyone knew Tino better than I did, and we were the ones dating. I rolled over on my side, a hand resting on my forehead.

As I know I'm a bit of a pessimist at times, I imagined the worst case scenario. Tino had must have been over at Eduard's for some reason. I didn't know the reason, but I had seen in my mind's eye them making a Christmas cake together, and getting a little…close to each other. I squeezed my eyes hard, and tried to wish the scene out of my head, only to be haunted by something else, if not worse.

Though I never saw Tino and Ivan as a couple, I could perfectly imagine it. I couldn't really see my height comparison to Tino, but Ivan and I were near the same height. With Ivan standing next to Tino, he looked so small. He fitted well within Ivan's arms. I could see Ivan caressing him and…

I rolled over yet again, not wishing for me to picture anything else. Why couldn't I just fall asleep?

---

I was the last one to join the Christmas party, only because I had forgotten to get my present and Denmark left before me. The party was only in the next room over, I was fine. I quickly picked up the small red box with a white ribbon tied above it, sitting like ears atop a kitten or a rabbit. I quickly walked back over the other room and was a little surprised to see Eduard there.

Of course, the first thing I thought of when I saw him was the 'dream' I had a few nights ago about him and Tino making a Christmas cake together. But he didn't seem to be doing anything of that nature now. In fact, he and Tino were sitting on opposite sides of the room. But as soon as Tino saw me walk through the door, he dashed up and rushed to me, giving me a quick peck on the lips. I felt my cheeks get all hot, and felt a little suspicious.

How could I have been so suspicious of Tino?

"Hello, Berwald!" He chirped in his usual merry tone. I had seen him yesterday, but only briefly. I had been working on his present most of yesterday, and he forbade himself to come in while I was working on it, though I didn't particularly mind.

"H—hallo, T'no," I smiled warmly.

Tino quickly took the present I had under my arm and set it under the tree along with the massive pile of presents. I hadn't been in Tino and Norway's dorm room for at least a week and a half. It had changed so much! Little paper decorations hung from the ceiling and from the walls as well as being all over the tree. Christmas cards from his family members were set in various places and quite a lot of food was sitting in their kitchen area. The colors of red, green and white were everywhere, and the room felt significantly warmer.

I noted that Tino and Norway had adjusted their room space in order to allow for the tree being there, as well as chairs and things to be squeezed in. Though, most people just sat on the edges of the beds, which was already close enough to the tree. As Tino told everyone to find a seat, he pulled me over to sit on his bed, where he wedged himself close to me and under my right arm. I could feel myself flushing lightly again, but he looked up and smiled at me.

Norway sat on his own bed, though Denmark had decided to follow him and sit next to him. "C'mon," he said in a rather enticing voice. "Here, eat this candy cane." He said, holding the crook-like peppermint candy in one hand.

Norway glared at it for a moment, giving it a suspicious look. "What'd you to do it?" He said, obviously not daring to trust him.

"Nothing!" Denmark insisted in an appalled tone, "Just eat it, please?"

"Fine," Norway rolled his eyes, and gestured to take the candy cane into his own hands, but Denmark pulled it away for a moment.

"No," He shook his head, "Let me hold it."

"Nnn, alright…" Norway mumbled, looking a little unaware of what Denmark's true goal was, but leaned in to attempt to eat the candy cane that Denmark was holding out to him. The taller blond was holding the crook part of the candy, leaving the straight end for Norway.

I could still hear almost everyone else talking amongst themselves, Tino, Iceland and Eduard were all chatting about the first snow and how they used to try to catch snowflakes on their tongues as kids. I, however, was more concerned and a bit absorbed in what Denmark was trying to get Norway to do.

Norway had the straight end of the candy cane in his mouth; just sitting there like nothing was really happening other than he was eating candy. A silent moment passed between the two, but as soon as Denmark smirked and laughed, Norway instantly realized what he was trying to get him to do, and quickly pulled back, removing the candy from his mouth. "Ugh, you sick _bastard!!_" Norway screamed, pushing the taller blond off of his bed. "There's no way in hell I'm going to ever give you a blowjob!"

"Aw, damn," Denmark whined, snapping his fingers.

With that, everyone else was drawn to…whatever Denmark and Norway had just had. Denmark eased himself up and walked over to Tino's bed, "Can I sit with you guys?" He asked in a rather pleading tone.

I tightened my trip on Tino and sort of glared at him, "'S l'ng 's yah d'n't do an'th'ng ta T'no…" I narrowed my eyes at Denmark, and he gestured that he surrendered.

In an effort to break the awkward feeling that was now lingering in the room, Tino sat up and announced that the exchanging of presents should start now. He got up, and personally took it upon himself to make sure everyone had a present in their hands, and then quickly shouted that everyone should open their first present simultaneously.

Even though this was my first Christmas party with Tino, it seemed really enjoyable. Tino's first present for me came in a long rectangular box that was black in color. I opened it, and discovered three ties of intricate and interesting designs were inside. He was still in the process of opening his present, but he looked at me a little sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind a few ties. I really like ties, so I hoped that you'd wear one…"

"Y's," I nodded and smiled, "Ah w'll,"

He smiled back as I helped him open the small box with a ribbon on top. Tino excitedly brushed away the tissue paper like grasses in a jungle. He let out a little cry when he pulled out the white stuffed dog I had sewn him. "Thank you!!" He squeaked happily, holding it close to him as he leaned against me. "I love dogs!"

_I just must be good at guessing…_ I thought victoriously to myself.

Tino stared at it happily, examining with his soft violet eyes. "Did you make this?" He looked over at me, "it looks like it's high quality."

I nodded once and saw Tino's eyes light up, "You didn't tell me you could sew!"

I started to feel nervous again and my cheeks started to feel all hot again. "W'll…Ah d'dn't w'nt a l't've p'ple kn'win' 'specially D'nm—"

"You didn't tell me you could sew, Waldy!!" Denmark had caught on and imitated Tino by using the same voice that he had only seconds ago. The smirk that he wore told me that I really wouldn't be able to live it down.

"G'dd'mmit…" I muttered angrily.

---

Holy Jesus, you guys. D: Sorry this took retardedly long, plz crucify me, sob sob sob. WELL. Asslodes of things have changed since I last updated. ; u ; I've had a boyfriend for over 3 months, so let's hope the romance is better in this AU, derp. THANK YOU FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME!! ; 7 ; And suggestions/comments/etc are very lovely, sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors.


	8. Use Your Head and Think it Over

Wow. I'm totally the worst at updating. I seriously bet I lost like a billion of readers from my lack of updates. Forgive me! ;n; Yeah don't worry guys, I totally haven't deserted you. I love you. You guys are the reason I keep continuing! Even though I never reply, I always read your reviews and get super excited when I see I have one!

"T'no," I had turned to the blond boy I was dating. "I d'n't…wan' t' be nosy 'er anythin'…B't wha' re'lly happ'nd betw'n you an' Iv'n?"

I had caught Tino a little off guard as we were walking together to another one of our classes. He did look a little surprised, but then turned to me and gave me a very reassuring smile. It seemed like a weak smile, though. "I—it's not you being nosy, Berwald…" He started, walking a little closer to me. "It's my fault for not telling you about him."

Tino then paused for a moment, taking a deep breath in. I was already in story-listening mode, as it was obvious from the way Tino was preparing himself. My eyes continually shifted from Tino to the floor, so I could listen to him and continue to watch out where I was going.

"Before we were enrolled into this school, Ivan lived across the street from me. He had moved in a few years ago and seemed like kind of a lonely guy…So me and Eduard decided to try to get to know him, we all were in the same neighborhood, after all. At first, things seemed great. Ivan _was_ a really lonely guy, we both found out, though he just needed a bit of company to change his mood. Ivan was really clingy though, even when both Eduard and I had other things to do, he never wanted us to leave. It was the same way when I started dating him. I think it was more out of pity than anything else, really…" He smiled nervously at the thought of it. "But Ivan was…oppressive and never wanted me out of his grasp. He'd hold me so start it started to hurt…He said he loved me all the time. Almost _constantly…_A—and…I just started getting scared. It took all of my strength even with Eduard's help to break up with him and to tell him to get out of my life."

The more he talked about Ivan, the more his shoulder started to sink. To show my support I wrapped one of my arms around his sinking shoulders and gave him a quick side squeeze. "I still get scared thinking about it…"

"Ah'll keep ya s'fe," I whispered softly.

"Thank you, Berwald…" He smiled with faith in his eyes. "I'm…sorry I ran away from you at first." He apologized. "I wasn't ready for any sort of relationship because all I could see was Ivan. But I'm glad you're not like that!" I could see overexcitement well up inside of him as he stopped me and stood on his tip toes to kiss my cheek.

Even though we had been dating a few months, I still felt my cheeks burn a little. It was a pleasant sort of feeling now, when it used to be horribly uncomfortable. As a little thought, I began to wonder how long our relationship would last.

"How l'ng w're you datin' Iv'n?" I asked rather quietly as we were on our way to gym, a class I shared with Iceland, Eduard and Toris.

"Hmm…" Tino paused, clearly trying to remember. "I think about four or five months…? I can't exactly remember when we started 'dating', but I can remember when I ended it."

Tino and I had only been dating for about three months. If clingy, manipulative and potentially abusive Ivan could last four or five months, I told myself that I could last at least eight! Or at least I hoped it be like that. I even enjoyed just standing next to Tino.

My inner thoughts came out through my mouth, "How l'ng d'ya th'nk we'll l'st?" I said this in a sort of blank, indifferent tone.

Of course, he'd take it the wrong way. "W—what do you mean, Berwald?" His eyebrows suddenly jutted up in fear.

"I me'nt…C'n ya see 's togeth'r fer at leas' a ye'r…?" I said quite softly, like I was embarrassed about the thought. Would we be together even after we graduated? Would we live together? Would we get married like Denmark had joked a long time ago?

"Well," He paused, considering the thought. "You're not giving me any reason to break up with you, so sure. I like having you around with me."

Hearing him say that made me feel better. Having Ivan as a prerequisite for the whole romantic experience must have been horrible for Tino, and comparing myself to Ivan, if I didn't last a good four or five months I think it'd be safe to call me doomed to eternal loneliness.

Math passed. Gym. Art. Science. All five periods of my day were through. Even English with Norway had been mundane and ritualistic. Toris and Eduard joined Tino, Iceland and I for a game of volleyball against some of my other classmates. Everything had a nice predictability that I enjoyed, as the familiar was very comforting, I thought. Of course there were always classes I never really enjoyed just because of the subjects themselves, but overall this boarding school wasn't too tedious. If anything, I was enjoying it more than regular public school because I could actually spend more time with my friends. And essentially spending more time with my neighbor, Tino.

After school he had asked if I wanted to take a walk around the school campus. It was a sort of date, I imagined. So I, of course, was more than willing to go. It was still a little cold out, but it was finally starting to warm up, even if just a tiny. No snow, though. Still, I wore a jacket and a scarf when going outside, as Tino wore his own cream-colored jacket and black fingerless gloves. On campus there was a pretty sizeable park with benches, tables and a few other things, like an outdoor basketball court. Tino and I weren't planning on playing basketball; it was just one thing that stood out to me that I hadn't really noticed before. Had it really always been there?

We were holding hands while walking, as was sort of the habit when we were going somewhere together. His gloves felt sort of wooly and itchy as his hand rested inside of mine, but I put up with it. "I told my mom about you in a letter I sent home," Tino smiled, seeming a bit timid.

"Ya did?" I asked, sounding curious. I didn't know he wrote to his parents. In fact, no one had really seemed to talk about their parents very much or much at all. I don't think I've said a word to anyone of my friends about my parents.

Tino nodded gently, "She said you sounded like a respectable, hard-working man. And that you'll take good care of me."

I'd never met the woman, and already her opinion of me was that great? What had Tino been telling her!

"Ah'm not al' th't gre't, T'no…" I let out a tiny bit of a nervous laugh.

"Yes you are!" He persisted, pretending to be a little angry as he hugged the arm closest to him. "You're wonderful and I love you."

"Yer not jus' s'yin' th't…?" I smiled teasingly.

"No, I'm not!" He laughed, pushing me a bit. "I told my mom that I'm dating you. She _still_ calls Ivan my 'little friend', which is probably the biggest understatement of a century… I never had the guts to tell my parents that I was dating anyone before…So I guess it's kind of a milestone for me! What about you?"

Me? I don't think I'd ever really even attempted communication with my parents since I've been going to this boarding school. My dad was this gruff, bear of man who rarely spoke and was always working or sleeping. I knew he loved me, but he didn't seem to have much time for me. And my mother on the other hand, she had too much time for me. Every moment I spent with my mother seemed like the perfect opportunity to correct whatever I was doing. Especially how I spoke and how bad my handwriting was. "Is that a five or a Q?" She had asked me one time, and whenever I imagined my mother I could still always hear her mocking me.

That was probably another reason why I enjoyed boarding school so much. I didn't have to be around my parents. I could just focus on the things I wanted to focus on. "Ah d'n't re'lly…l'ke mah par'nts…" I added in a voice that exuded shame.

"Why not?" Tino asked with lighthearted curiosity. "Are they mean or something?"

"Mah m'm alw'ys seems ta w'nt ta corr'ct ev'rythin' ah do." I let out in a quite a solemn tone. "Ah c'n nev'r do anythin' r'ght…"

Tino hugged my arm a little tighter. "I'm sorry to hear that, Berwald. But I'm glad you're here."

"M' too," I smiled proudly.

From where we had wandered, we were now in a deeper part of the forested park area. The school was almost completely out of view, as the school was quite secluded in itself. I had remembered that when she first heard about the school, my mother was very excited that the school boasted no real outside distractions, like a shopping mall or something like that. The next city over was really quite small in comparison.

And from the rather forested area, a really calming feeling rose up within both of us. Between the trees there was this lovely cool feeling in the slight breeze and the soft chatter from faraway birds. "Ahhhh, this place is so beautiful!" Tino exclaimed in an awestruck tone with his head tilted back.

"Mmhm," I added in agreement, wrapping my arms around his torso in a tight embrace. We both looked up at the sky for a moment, just gazing longingly at the thick blanket of white cottony clouds overhead. Both of us stood so still that we could see the clouds move, and I looked down to see what Tino was thinking about all of this. His lovely, dewy eyes were trailing some of the clouds, waiting for one to move out of view and then start to follow the next.

"How come we've never come out here before?" He whispered in bewilderment.

"Gues' w' didn' w'nder 'nough…" I speculated. I wasn't much of a wanderer. Tino seemed like the curious type, but not strictly a wanderer either. If anyone was a wonderer, it'd be Denmark—the blind wanderer.

As he was still taking in the scenery, I let my head rest on his shoulder, with my nose on his neck. Trying to be conscious of my hot breath on Tino's neck, I tried to breathe more out my nose instead of my mouth. Maybe that way it wouldn't be uncomfortable. With his pretty little neck in my sights, I soon had the overwhelming urge to kiss it. Perhaps if I tried slowly, he wouldn't notice as much. Going along with my plan, I started to inch closer to Tino's pale, yet inviting neck. Eventually, I got my lips to just gently rest there.

Immediately, I saw a shiver run up Tino's spine and he quickly turned around to face me. "Who says you get to kiss me there!"

I panicked too. It wasn't even a real kiss if you think about it, I told myself. As I used my own logic, a light kiss on the neck wasn't…too far, was it? We had been dating for a few months, and up until now it had just been hand holding and little pecks. I didn't want the relationship to go stale…

Tino smirked a bit, seeing how flustered I was. "Kidding~," He said faintly in a singsong voice. "Just lean over a bit."

Listening to Tino's request, I did so. Now the huge height difference between us wasn't so prominent. The only awkward drawback was the way my legs were belt. But oh well. Tino threw his arms around me, probably to keep me from straightening my posture, and kissed me. It soon was more than that, though, as our lips pulled closer and away from each other quite rhythmically. I hadn't imagined it happening like this, but soon I started to feel his tongue in my mouth. Maybe Tino wasn't as innocent and pure as everyone seemed to think he was.

"Stop it, alright!" A voice came from afar, resulting in the breaking of the French kiss that Tino and I were sharing.

For some reason, both of us were frozen in an awkward position as we started listening intently. For better support, we had migrated over to a trunk of a sizeable pine tree with Tino's back against it. Tino looked at me with eyes that said 'Who do you think that is?'

In hopes to at least try to learn more about the situation and the parties involved in it, we strained our ears.

"I'm sick and tired of it, alright?" the same voice from before hollered angrily. "I thought it was funny at first, flattering even. But I've told you no countless times, you idiot! Can't you just listen to me? I've had enough of you. I don't love you, and I never will. In fact, I think I've had just enough of you!"

"Norway," A defeated voice pleaded back, sounding on the verge of tears.

Denmark and Norway? I wouldn't have thought that they fought this badly… But then again, Denmark was incredibly persistent. The man really didn't take no for an answer.

"Oh, no!" I heard Tino whimper worriedly next to me. "We should d—"

I held him tighter. "W' sh'uldn't 'nterfere…"

Tino capitulated and realized that interfering could result in worse consequences than having them duke it out at the moment. So then we waited patiently.

"N—Norway…What can I _do_ to get you to like me? In any sort of way!" It was obvious from the way he was speaking that Denmark was crying now. I could only feel broken for him. If Tino had decided to break up with me, I'd probably be crying too.

"There's nothing you _can_ do, Denmark." Norway replied back quite coldly. "As long as we've known each other, I've never been romantically interested in you, not even once."

Denmark paused to choke out a pitiful sob. "Why? Why can't you be with me?"

"You're too near-sighted, Denmark!" Norway retorted forcefully. "You only see what you want to see, and you're selfish and bothersome. It's like you don't listen to anything I say! You're like some sort of tick that I can't get to, or I'd already have crushed you and had to deal with a nasty rash afterwards. I'm just so sick and tired of you, I really am."

"I—I thought that if…I tried hard enough…"

"Ugh," Norway sounded in response, and I could hear him walking away through the rather tall grasses. Left remaining was the pathetic Denmark who Tino and I could now clearly see was curled up on the ground crying his eyes out. As we inched a little closer, I saw a small bundle of roses that had been stomped on, most likely, with most of their petals withered and torn. Good god, Denmark had his heart ripped out of him and served on a platter.

Tino tugged on my hand and both of us sort of broke out into a weak run to be near our disheveled friend. He looked up when he sensed another presence, and immediately shouted, "Jesus Christ, you guys, get a room!"

"Denmark!" Tino protested.

I waited for a moment before speaking. "'f ya wan' us t' leave, w' will." I said quite gravely, thinking about the way I myself would cope in that sort of situation. Before Tino, I would distance myself from everything and everyone and want to be cooped up in my room with a thousand blankets over my head so no one could see how ashamed I was. I hadn't been drastically sad since dating Tino, but I imagine if something bad happened, I'd pull him over and just hold him, hoping that everything would get better.

As long as I've known him, I'd never seen Denmark shed a tear unless it was from laughing too much. I'd seen him get a little angry sometimes, though he'd revert back within a few minutes. But now he was completely devastated. I didn't want to be a bad friend and just tell him to "cheer up" because I knew it wouldn't work. Telling him that there were other people out there would be a bad move too, because that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"You can stay," He muttered under his breath, so we all sat down on the cool grass with slight dampness as foggy condensation hung in the air.

Tino scooted closer to Denmark to give him a tight, compassionate side hug, seeing as Denmark was hunched over with his knees pulled under his chin. "I don't know what we can do, but if you need anything, Berwald and I can help." I could see his weak smile as he glanced at me when he mentioned by name.

"How did you get Tino to fall in love with you, Berwald?" Denmark asked feebly, only just peering up at me.

"Pat'ence," I said after some thought, looking at Tino for a moment before resuming my gaze at my vulnerable friend. "'specia'ly jus' ta git 'im ta t'lk ta me."

Tino was taking a different approach. "Denmark, even if Norway went out with you, do you imagine he'd be very happy?"

Denmark paused, not knowing how to respond.

"I know it hurts, and I'm sorry…but it's not news that he's turned you down on lots of occasions… If he went out with you, it'd probably be out of pity. And pity relationships never last long or end well." Tino's face darkened. I could tell he was speaking out of experience with Ivan. I made it a point to myself that one day I'd have to seriously tell off Ivan for all he's done to Tino.

"Pity?" Denmark squeaked.

"W'll…" I let out, "Ya are cryin',"

"Well I was prepared for crying," Denmark said in a lighthearted joking voice, "but not this much, god_damn_." He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. "Does crying dries your eyes out this much? FFffffffuuhhhhhh, so much pain involved with blinking. This is super ridiculous. " I could see that Denmark was trying to push away the tears. He really did bottle everything up.

Evening had rolled in, bringing its dark, starry blanket along with it. Denmark, of course, had totally ignored all homework and was flopped down on his bed with a pillow clutched to his chest. "I just feel like moping," He muttered.

"G' a'head 'n mope." I urged him. "N'thin's stoppin' ya,"

"What, you want me to be all crybaby teenage romance drama on ya? Can you take that, brah?"

"W'll wh't was th't this aft'rnoon?" I smirked jokingly.

"Hey, Waldy," Denmark replied in a sort of deadpan, yet offended voice. "Bought him some roses, he stomped on him. Tell me that doesn't hurt." Denmark shrugged and continued his jokingly serious face. "And that shit's expensive."

"Ah'd say y'r takin' it very w'll," I nodded, agreeing with him. "'f it's b'therin' ya th't much, d'n't go ta school t'morrow." Maybe a day off would clear his mind.

"Eeeehhh," He considered the option. "I know I hardly pay attention as is, but I think my dad would flip a bitch if my grades get totally worse."

"D' wh'tcha w'nt," I told him with a nod as I loaded up my bag for tomorrow. Tomorrow was Friday, and alas, the only obstacle in front of a peaceful weekend. Maybe that's what we all really needed. Just a simple weekend to kick back and just mull over things. I liked the way that sounded.

Sorry for being such a horrible person to Denmark, I just needed something to write about :3 Tell me if you want more chapters to be in Tino or Berwald's POV, 'cause I'm willing to do either as long as I have some ideas. ;o; THANKS FOR ALL STICKING WITH ME! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!


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